Who are we to decide what form of government will be best for the Iraqi people once the June 30 transfer of power comes and goes?
Today, that question is rhetoric. As midnight, June 30 creeps closer and closer, Iraq's interim government is flexing its mass approval for the world to see. The government, and its interim president Ghazi al-Yawar, were unanimously endorsed by the U.N. Security Council on June 8, and Wednesday's Group of Eight summit in Georgia yielded multinational optimism for collaborative rebuilding efforts.
It's shortsighted, however - perhaps as shortsighted as the war in Iraq itself - to believe that the sun will now shine on Iraq and its people because of worldly approval. The United States will still bear the brunt of the rebuilding effort, U.S. troops will still occupy the region without support from Russia, France, Germany and Canada and American flags will continue to burn in some Iraqi streets. The promises of U.S. troops being welcomed with flowers and open arms will always give way to the reality of resentful insurgents.
A question that can actually be answered, though, is why. Why will Iraqi insurgents and anti-American sentiment continue to swell in the region that has been promised a better, democratic way of life? Why will a widely-approved interim government stumble out of the gate?
Likely because a government generally does not breed a certain way of life. A democratic government will not reduce theocracy, it will not create a miraculous peace, nor will it harmonize Iraqi ethnic groups. It will certainly help, and democracy will always be favored to martial rule or a dictator's whims, but it's apparent that Iraqi democracy is a long-term goal. It will need to be carefully fostered and nurtured over years for it to take root in the Iraqi sands that have known martial rule or totalitarianism for over 20 years.
Moreover, the U.N. resolution and G-8 optimism come roughly three weeks before the scheduled transfer of power. Our presence in Iraq has always been globally unpopular, and a rival solution has never had widespread disclosure, or even organization. This week, the world has essentially told America - finish what you started so this war will never need to be fought again.
American approval of our Iraq intervention has hovered around 50 percent for months, and any indication of a boost would need to be related to dramatic improvement. Furthermore, even the most ardent critics of war realize that troop presence in Iraq will need to stabilize or increase before the climate is right for withdrawal. The optimism expressed by countries known to clash with the Bush administration is the product of hope.
The world has hope that Iraq will be left in one piece by American reconstruction efforts. Allies and enemies alike agree that a cooperative effort combined with a strong Iraqi interim government forges some semblance of unity in the war-ravaged country. It will take a global investment in rebuilding Iraq to ensure that a war as shortsighted as the one that broke the country will never happen again.
