Back to Reality in Iraq

Chris Albritton's been in Iraq (with a few breaks) pretty much since the American invasion in 2003. His work is largely from the street but reported in the context of Iraqi politics, culture and history. That's why his assessment of American prospects in Iraq is so right on.

...Now, after two elections and one referendum, the Iraqi people have elected a government that has become more sectarian, not less; more divided and divisive.... That’s democracy in Iraq. Modernity lost.

Look, I’ll be honest: I don’t know what the American course of action should be exactly. Stay? Leave? It’s a bit of a trick question because the military component of the American presence has been, well, almost the entirety of the American presence, and this has long not been a military problem. Of course U.S. troops should go as soon as possible. But what’s really needed is an army of police trainers, technicians and people who can get the economy back on its feet and power flowing again, from America and from around the region. You want to see the forces of secularism advance in Iraq? Put al-Alousi [a secular Sunni]in charge of the electricity ministry and then spare no expense to get the lights back on for more than four hours a day in Baghdad — and then let him take the credit. Put secularists in charge of the anti-corruption watchdog Committee for Public Integrity and give it some real bite. Rid plum posts like the Finance Ministry of discredited retreads like Bayan Jabr and put real economists in place so they can boost employment in the south. That would be a good start.

If the Iraqis are unwilling to take steps that de-emphasize local, tribal and sectarian loyalties in their politics — and fast — well, maybe the U.S. should just pack up and leave. These days, al-Alousi is a lonely swallow indeed.