Moveon.org: Important: Letters on the future of Iraq

The war with Iraq continues. No one knows if it will last weeks, months, or years. Even after the fighting stops in Iraq, the fallout from this war could span decades. We can only hope that it ends quickly, with an absolute minimum loss of life.

Even as the troops march towards Baghdad, a big controversy is brewing over what will happen when the war does end. The neoconservatives like Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard Perle envision a longer U.S. occupation of Iraq, directed entirely by the Pentagon and with only minimal participation by other countries and the U.N. Their scheme calls for setting up a provisional government in which Americans head each of the 23 ministries. In essence, they want to win the peace the way the U.S. has pushed for war: alone.

The U.S. State Department, the C.I.A., Prime Minister Tony Blair, the major humanitarian relief organizations, France, Germany, and most of the rest of the countries in the world disagree with this plan. They'd like to see the reconstruction of Iraq as a collaborative, international effort lead by the U.N. And many of them believe the Pentagon plan is a recipe for disaster.

The decision on how post-war Iraq is to be managed will be made in the next several days, and the Administration is split. The consequences will play out in Iraq and around the world for generations. By writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, you can help to sway the balance away from the unilateralism that has done so much damage and toward a collective rebuilding process.

We've made it easy for you to send a letter by providing some detailed talking points below. Here are some tips on how to make the most of them:

1. Your newspaper's letters page should give you an email address or fax number to use, or you can try this website.

2. Your own words, written from the heart, are always best.

3. Brevity is the soul of wit.

4. The key to publication is to pounce on something specific you've seen in the newspaper -- especially an editorial or op-ed article. The issue of post-war Iraq has been in the news a lot lately -- try to cite a specific article when you write.

5. Be sure to include your name and address, and especially your phone number when submitting your letter. Editors need to call you to verify authorship before they can print your letter. They don't print your phone number.

6. Please let us know when you've sent your letter by pasting it into the form below:

If that doesn't work, go to:
http://www.moveon.org/futureofiraq.html

Here's why big parts of our own government, and the governments of many other countries, oppose having the Pentagon reconstruct Iraq:

Many major relief organizations believe that it will be difficult or impossible to help starving or malnourished people in a Pentagon-controlled Iraq. Relief has never been a priority for the Pentagon, and in many cases the U.S. simply lacks the expertise to distribute food and medical aid effectively. (For more info, go here.)

At the State Department, officials worry that not including the U.N. in post-war planning could heighten tensions between the U.S. and other important allies. A recent L.A. Times article quoted one Administration official as saying, "We're on the verge of further alienating allies. . . And it looks like we're going to do exactly what we promised we wouldn't -- take small groups of exiles with limited influence in Iraq and bring them in as the bulk of a transition government." (The article is linked to below.)

Many Administration officials worry that a U.S.-led reconstruction effort will be regarded with suspicion or even hostility by Iraqis, who have already shown that they do not welcome foreign intruders. (Washington Post, April 2, 2003) In other words, if lead by the U.S., an Iraqi government may simply fail. That could leave Iraq in the hands of another Saddam Hussein.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair worries that if post-war Iraq is not in the hands of the U.N., other countries may be reticent to play a significant role in the reconstruction of the country. According to the L.A. Times, "Blair sees the move as critical to winning support from donor nations and to preventing a political backlash and new terrorism from an increasingly angry Arab world."

Your letter doesn't have to go into these details. Here are some key points you can touch on:

A U.S. occupation of post-war Iraq could incite anti-American hatred in the Arab world, and could breed more terrorism.

Major humanitarian organizations believe the Pentagon's leadership could put relief workers and starving and malnourished Iraqis at risk.

U.S. control of the reconstruction process will further alienate our already estranged allies, and could create a permanent rift between us and the countries we rely upon for cooperation in the war on terrorism.

The amount of money available for the rebuilding of Iraq will depend on the degree to which other countries feel included in the decision-making process. A U.S.-only process could lead potential donor countries to drop out.

The U.N. is equipped to build democracies; the United States government has neither the expertise nor the long-term political will to see such a process through.

Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon want a U.S. occupation of Iraq. That could have disastrous consequences, not only for the U.S., but for the future of democracy in Iraq. As Prime Minister Blair said, "Iraq in the end should not be run by the Americans, should not be run by the British, should not be run by any outside force or power. It should be run for the first time in decades by the Iraqi people."

Sincerely,
--Carrie, Eli, Joan, Peter, Wes, and Zack
  The MoveOn Team
  April 3rd, 2003

P.S. Here's a great L.A. Times article that sums up many of these issues.

P.P.S. If you're interested in taking more media-related actions on a more frequent basis, please join our Media Corps

Posted by Brian Stefans at April 04, 2003 04:19 PM | TrackBack