March 16, 2005

Boris Johnson, the Member of Parliament and editor of The Spectator, writes from Baghdad about the importance of today:
Even the bombs couldn't spoil this day

[...]...
However many mortar bombs they fired at the convention centre in Baghdad, they totally failed to disrupt the event. For days we had been told to expect fireworks; and in the end the terrorists fizzled.

There took place yesterday morning on the banks of the muddy Tigris a ceremony that was in many ways beautiful and moving, and deeply consoling for anguished souls like me who voted for a controversial war. Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Assyrians, you name it: speaker after speaker stood up to hail the birth of a new democracy in the Middle East. Surrounded by vast sprays of plastic gladioli, reminiscent of a banqueting hall in Ceausescu's Romania, the party leaders celebrated a free Iraq.
[Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!]

There were smooth émigré businessmen, returned in the search of power, and ancient caramel-coloured Bedouin in traditional headgear. There were angry Kurds, who insisted that every syllable be translated in their language, with all the passion of a Plaid Cymru man on a speeding charge, and above all there were the men of God. One man, a key figure in the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, began with the words, "We praise Allah and thank him that he has accomplished the ambitions of the people", and ended with: "You are the best lord and the creator of our destiny and we praise you lord of the world, peace be upon you." In between, he attributed almost everything to the beneficence of Allah, foreign, domestic, monetary, fiscal.

And as the many Shias on his list gave tongue in response, and answered his Koranic invocations, we could see the difficulties ahead. First they have to form a government, which will be difficult enough, with the Kurds and the Shias jockeying for possession of the oilfields of Kirkuk, and then, before August 15, they must draw up a constitution. There is a risk that the Shi'ites will try to grab the steering wheel, and turn Iraq into an Iran-style theocracy, complete with restrictions on female education. Then there is the continuing risk to the security of every person in this room, the fury of the rejectionists and insurgents who make so much of Iraq a no-go area for foreigners and democratic politicians.

Yesterday the Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi - formerly a fervent supporter of the war - announced that it was pulling the 3,000 Italians out, in response to the killing of an Italian security operative at the hands of American troops.I think that is sad and regrettable. Something very remarkable is happening in Baghdad, and whatever the rights and wrongs of the war, those of us who were involved in it should stay until this nascent democracy is safe.
[...]
...As it happens, Mr Berlusconi was wrong in his whole handling of the rescue of Giuliana Sgrena. By paying a huge ransom to the kidnappers, he merely added incentive to the nutcases to kidnap others; he raised the risks for the hundreds of British, among others, who are struggling to help rebuild the country.
[Berlusconi has also announced that his country (meaning himself, personally) will no longer pay such ransoms, but you couldn't fault them if the killers didn't quite believe him.]

Efforts to provide water, sewers and electricity are already being hampered by the need for every Western worker to be accompanied by his or her own private security detail, composed of hugely competent Ulstermen
[Survivors of Britain's war with the IRA, I suppose.--Jen]
with shades and pistols on their thighs. The security problems are not only frightening; they are frighteningly expensive. We need Western troops to remain here until the Iraqis are capable of fighting the terrorists themselves. The day may not be far off, but in the meantime I did not meet a single person here who wanted us to leave - far from it - or who regretted the change we have brought about.

Having started this operation, whatever its faults, we have a moral duty to help see it through. If that means sending more British troops to make up for the Italian deficiency, we may have to do it - and there would be many brave Brits in Iraq who would agree.

God bless you, Mr. Johnson, and long live Free Iraq!
Hope you can get a majority of Parliament and your fellow British citizens to agree with you.
This is England at its finest, talking about their "moral duties" and meaning it seriously and sincerely.
Sir Winston Churchill would be proud.
And I'm glad to see British politicians going to the war zone to see for themselves as our own Senators and Congresspersons have been doing.
Although it was underplayed by the MSM (which they always do with "good news" from Iraq) and not as visually exciting as the purple fingers of Voting Day, today's convening of the Iraqi Parliament was another big milestone for Free Iraq and for a Free Middle East.
And, as with January 30, it was marked by a few bombings and some deaths and injuries, but overall, the "terrorists fizzled" and failed to stop "Freedom on the March" in the Middle East.
Allah--or more accurately God--be praised!