Carnage in Iraq
By the Editor

ALMOST close to another 70 persons including two US soldiers were killed in Iraq at the weekend in US military operations and Iraqi fighters’ attacks on American military patrols.

US military sources said that as many as 50 guerillas were killed in the operations in restive western Iraqi province of Al-Anbar near the Syrian border.

Iraq continues to bleed as Iraqi soldiers, policemen and people are being killed, maimed and wounded both at the hands of the US forces as well as the Iraqi fighters. Iraq is thus in turmoil due to US military’s quest to gain permanent control over the country’s oil resources.

It’s now proven up to the hilt that the entire story of WMDs was cooked up by the Bush administration to occupy Iraq’s oil wells in order to maintain US monopoly over world economy in the 21st century.

The unabated killings of Iraqis are, however, deplorable and need to be checked urgently and decisively. There is certainly no moral justification for killing the Iraqi people in the name of guerillas or infiltration from Iran and Syria.

The determined Iraqi resistance and unprecedented sacrifices have, however, established that the US can never gain control over Iraq, irrespective of its fabricated elections and induction of puppet regimes.

The only solution that can bring peace and normalcy in Iraq is an early end to occupation and withdrawal of US troops from the vanquished country.

The US must see the writing on the wall and accept the ground reality rather than keeping its horns locked with a determined, committed and resolute nation, which is spilling blood for its freedom and sovereignty without remorse.

The US must recognize the truth that no nation, howsoever powerful, can subjugate another nation determined to fight for its honour and sovereignty.

Iraq has certainly provided an unambiguous proof of its determination to win back its sovereignty, irrespective of the sacrifices.

It’s, therefore, time that Washington should reconsider its strategy in Middle East in general and in Iraq in particular for the sake of peace, security and stability in the region. There ought to be no illusion that US forces’ presence in Iraq will remain a source of destabilization in the Middle East.

It’s, thus imperative that not only US should withdraw its troops from Iraq, but should also convince Israel to respect Palestinians’ right to statehood and implement the peace road map for durable peace in the Middle East.● 

 -  Mumtaz Hamid Rao
www.MumtazRao.net