Channel NewsAsia January 06, 2007
President Bush faces more problems as he unveils new Iraq strategy
By Julie Donnelly
WASHINGTON : US President George Bush is putting the final touches on his new Iraq policy, which he is expected to unveil next week.
But Mr Bush's already imposing task has hit new snags - the controversial hanging of Saddam Hussein and the announcement that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki will not stand for re-election.
Just over three thousand US soldiers have now been killed in Iraq.
That number weighs on President Bush and the American people as the US leader prepares to shift policy in Iraq.
John Pike, Globalsecurity.org, said: "The challenge that he's going to face is that the United States doesn't have any good options in Iraq. They can attempt to repackage the war. But the reality is that what happens in Iraq is not completely in the hands of the United States. Much of it is up to the Iraqi leadership and at least some of it is in the hands of the enemy."
President Bush has been candid about the strength of that enemy but he has perhaps overestimated the strength of his ally, the Iraqi government.
Protests by Sunni Muslims in several countries followed the hanging of Saddam Hussein after cell phone footage revealed a process that allowed his Shia executioners to taunt the former leader before his death.
White House Spokesman Tony Snow did not deny reports that the US was less than pleased with the execution, but insisted that justice was served.
He said: "I think the most important thing to realise is that Saddam Hussein was executed after a long and public trial and an appeal that met international standards."
But many observers said the execution of Saddam Hussein looked more like a tribal revenge killing than the act of a democratic government.
Marina Ottoway, Carnegie Center for International Peace, said: "Democracy is not just about electing a government, but it's about running that government along certain rules. There is no rule of law in Iraq. There is no capacity...the government cannot even govern the country. I can't give my opinion about if the government is democratic when the government cannot even govern."
The US received another blow to its Iraq policy when Nouri Al-Maliki announced that he will not seek a second term as Prime Minister.
An uncertain political future in Iraq compounds Mr Bush's difficulties in crafting an Iraq policy.
The US leader may announce a surge of US troops - up to eight or nine thousand.
But it would be unpopular with the American public, and Mr Bush may not have the stomach for it.
Marina Ottoway said: "My fear frankly is that he's going to announce a small increase of troops which is not going to make a big difference on the ground and that six months from now we'll be back to square one, essentially."
The question is whether any American policy can make a difference when events like Saddam Hussein's hanging cast doubts on the role of the Iraqi government as a viable partner in achieving peace.
All eyes will be on Iraq again this weekend as the country prepares to execute two of Saddam Hussein's associates.
The event may provide a clue about whether President Bush's fledgling democracy in the Middle East will ever have a chance.
© Copyright 2007, MCN International Pte Ltd.
