Real challenges for Iraq lie ahead

Ashwin Raman -- Staff Column

As the war in Iraq is at the final stages, all previous concerns and fears have fitfully risen once again. These are the concerns and fears that were voiced by protesters and skeptics of the Bush administration before the start of the war.

Now, the time has come for this administration to prove that it is fit for what I feel is the real challenge.

First, there is the enormous problem of reconstructing Iraq. In the past few days, America has sent a team down to Kuwait to begin the preparations for the new Iraqi government that will replace Saddam Hussein's regime. The whole world saw something similar to this take place not too long ago in Afghanistan.

While the new government, led by Hamid Karzai, is a huge improvement to the brutal Taliban government that preceded it, it is still far from being a success. Karzai's government's structure is still very fragile, mostly because the current ministers in the government were once warlords who battled each other constantly. And as for Karzai himself, he has already been the victim of a number of assassination attempts. Another Afghanistan-like situation in Iraq would be nothing short of a disaster.

Then there is also the plan to reconstruct Iraq into a pro-American democracy that will be a model state in the Middle East. This is by far no ordinary task. If Iraq is to become pro-American, does this mean it will become pro-Israel? This definitely needs some consideration because how would it be possible for a pro-American Arab nation to support and recognize the sovereignty of America's biggest Middle Eastern ally, Israel, when the rest of its Arab neighbors are anti-Israel. This would only further infuriate Arab anger towards America. And if the new Iraqi regime remains anti-Israeli like its predecessor, would America have really achieved anything in this war?

Furthermore, there was talk on Tuesday between President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to include the U.N. in the reconstruction of Iraq. This attempt to bring the U.N. back into the picture is clearly an attempt to try to prove to the world that the future Iraqi government will not be an American puppet.

But let's be honest here. The U.N. itself became irrelevant the moment this war began. This war went underway without any U.N. backing and the U.N. did nothing to stop it. All it proved was that the U.N. is powerless when confronted by a superpower such as America.

The fact is that the U.N. has become relevant only when it suits the Bush administration. This is a view that is shared by many around the world. Thus, even if the U.N. is involved in the reconstruction of Iraq, there are still no guarantees that Iraq won't become a puppet state for America.

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Ashwin Raman can be reached at [email protected]