Raed Jarrar Calls for New US Iraq Policy  During Bethlehem Talk

     On Monday, October 15, Raed Jarrar, an analyst and consultant with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), spoke at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethlehem. His talk was sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Peace Coalition. Raed was born in Baghdad, obtained an engineering degree at the University of Baghdad, and did post-graduate work at the University of Jordan. He was part of the only door to door casualty count in Iraq, done in 2003. He has been living in the US since 2005. For a complete version of his current analysis of the situation in Iraq, check out his blog, http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/, where there is available a video of a talk from his speaking tour. 

     He is an energetic and engaging speaker with one foot in Iraq, one foot in the US, where he is now a permanent resident. His talk centered on the roots of the conflict in Iraq, and the disconnect between what is really happening and what is perceived here in the US. He first wanted to debunk the mainstream narrative, that Sunni and Shi’a have been fighting for centuries, and therefore the US has no responsibility for the current crisis of violence. 

     He noted that the Iraqi population and the US troops serving in Iraq had one thing in common – a greater than 75% approval rate for the idea of a troop withdrawal from Iraq. Raed went on to note that the United States military has had the chance to prove that it could prevent violence. For example, immediately after the “Golden Dome” bombing, there was an expectation that a full scale civil war was imminent. The US military, at that crucial moment, restricted its troops to base, and did not deploy to dissuade violence. In fact, Iraqi’s neither expect nor desire US forces to police their nation. 

     The majority in Iraq believe that the major conflict is between Iraqi’s and the US occupiers, a reality buttressed by the fact that 90-95% of attacks are against US forces. Iraqi voices who make it to the US media are not representatives of the 80% of Iraqi’s who want an end to the US occupation. The majority of Iraq is against all foreign intervention, whether it be from Iran, Al-Qaeda, or any other source. 

     A key point that Raed emphasized was that the conflict is not a religious conflict, but a political conflict, between Nationalists, who favor a united Iraq, and Separatists, who want a balkanized Iraq, into separate states; Sunnistan, Shiastan and Kurdistan. The Nationalists control the Parliament, and have passed resolutions demanding a US withdrawal, and have not passed the oil law eagerly awaited by Washington and the big oil corporations. The Parliament is overridden by Nouri Al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, and his Cabinet, who represent Separatist interests, and the United States. 

     Currently there is a “soft partitioning” in Iraq, as the Kurdish north has already taken considerable autonomy. Raed noted that the Biden plan is not just interference in Iraq, it is an example of a foreign presence taking sides in a sensitive internal conflict. It is a plan for ethnic cleansing that would end up moving millions away from their homes. There are 2,000,000 non-Sunni’s in a projected Sunnistan, 2,000,000 non-Shi’a in Shiastan, and 500,000 non-Kurds in Kurdistan. 

     There are over 4,000,000 refugees, many of whom left their homes because of organized ethnic cleansing that is not happening for religious reasons, but due to fights over power, territory, sovereignty and independence. Raed maintained that the US presence props up the Separatists, who have been aligned with Bush since 2000. 

     He went on to state that Iraq needs a ten year period to sort out a reconstruction and reconciliation, but that this period cannot begin until the US leaves. A US withdrawal must be complete, without leaving behind troops or mercenaries. Most of the militias and political groups within Iraq have already published plans for peace, AFTER a US withdrawal without permanent bases or long term oil leases. We don’t hear about this in the US, because it is not in step with strategic interests of the Bush administration and those conducting and supporting the occupation. We don’t hear that 1,000,000 Iraqi’s signed a petition for US troop withdrawal in 2006, or that 1,000,000 have demonstrated for the same purpose in 2007. The refugees want to return to their homes, but cannot, due to the US occupation. The US presence prevents their return. 

     Raed observed that one idea often missing from all sides of the debate here in the US is that Iraq has the right to self-determination, and deserves a chance to reconstruct and reconcile without outside interference and control. 

     He maintained that the 2005 election vote was an act of non-violent resistance, as Iraq elected a Parliament that wants the US out. There is no functioning government in Iraq – there is only a club that meets in the Green Zone. The people ruling Iraq today are local communities, militias: there is no rule of law and order. The US role guarantees that there will be no government in Iraq. 

     Raed emphasized, again, that the conflict is political, not Sunni vs Shi’a. The Sunni and Shi’a have lived in Iraq without conflict for 1400 years. While it is part of the prevailing wisdom here, for example, that the Ba’ath regime of Saddam Hussein was Sunni, it was in fact a secular regime that incorporated supporters, and destroyed dissenters. The US most wanted, 55 people who were identified as criminal Ba’athists in the first days of the occupation, show this fact - 36 of the 55 were Shi’ite. 

     Raed brought an incisive analysis to the area this week. Unfortunately, it will not be heard by enough people, not be heeded by our policy makers. -transcribed from notes by Joe DeRaymond, who would refer the reader to Raed's blog for the full story, and for timely updates