Newsweek tillskriver Bush seger i Irak

Newsweek hade den 26 februari en artikel som beskrev hur Irak efter 7 års krig faktiskt börjar gå en ljusare framtid till mötes. Artikeln förklarar att president Bush 2003 hade deklarerat att Irak skulle bli en demokratimodell för hela mellanöstern - så blev det inte genast, men med tiden har en nation börjat ta form i mellanöstern vars motsvarighet området sällan skådat. Artikeln konstaterar:

"...now, almost seven hellish years later—that something that looks mighty like democracy is emerging in Iraq. And while it may not be a beacon of inspiration to the region, it most certainly is a watershed event that could come to represent a whole new era in the history of the massively undemocratic Middle East."

Artikeln förklarar vidare hur bråk mellan de politiska grupperna tidigare kunde utvecklas till våldsdåd genom att någon missnöjd person manade till just detta, nu minskat, och motsättningar till trots så försöker man lösa saker inom det demokratiska systemets egna ramar. Det finns många problem kvar, och skeptikern skulle kunna argumentera för att situationen i Irak är instabil, men, skriver Newsweek:

"In Iraq today, conditions seem more likely to reinforce than to undermine the gains so far. Iraqis have been hardened by a very tough past and now, coming out the other side of the infernal tunnel that is their recent history, many share a sense of solidarity as survivors. "Identities in Iraq are fluid, but there is more of a sense of an Iraqi national identity," says Middle East historian Phebe Marr"

Lite senare fortsätter artikeln:

"The country not only has the freest press in the region, but the gutsiest. More than 800 newspapers and TV and radio stations have aggressively gone after politicians and sleazy businessmen. The country now has more than 1,200 trained judges, and courts have convicted senior officials on corruption charges, with more cases pending. Women's groups, too, have asserted themselves, pushing for 25 percent of provincial councils to be female and forcing the Education Ministry to roll back a proposal to separate boys and girls in school.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign is that Iraq's military has become one of the most respected institutions in the country. The remnants of Al Qaeda in Iraq continue to carry out horrendous suicide operations, and some analysts expect the terrorists to step up their activities if sectarian tensions increase, and as American troops withdraw. But they no longer seem to pose an existential threat to the central government, and have inspired near--universal revulsion among Iraqis. Nor do most close observers fear the opposite—that the Army might become too strong and mount a coup. "I think people mention this because it's been such a recurrent theme in Iraq's past," says Ambassador Hill. "But we're certainly not seeing signs that the military is interested in engaging in politics."

Omslaget på Newsweek har titeln "Victory at last", med en utgående president Bush på vänstra sidan. Tidigare utrikesminister Lawrence Eagleburger kommenterar i följande intervju på Fox News artikeln i Newsweek:



Källa: Newsweek

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