By A. Khalili
For several days Iraq has been a scene of large demonstrations and opposition of the people and the government toward the contemptuous remarks by Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, who took command of the US forces last month.
In a recent interview with The Washington Post the general claimed Tehran is trying to cajole Iraqi lawmakers to oppose the US-Iraq security accord known as the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). He also charged that Iran was “paying off people“, politicians and policymakers to kill the deal strongly opposed by Iraqis across the political and religious spectrum.
The shocking charges by the American general drew extensive reaction from the people, political groups, senior officials and legislators.
Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki characterized the comment as unfortunate, and said such lethal pronouncements would only further complicate Washington-Baghdad relations.
Moreover, Iraq’s government spokesman, Ali Al-Dabbagh in a statement protested the claim and said the general had resorted to unacceptable language toward the elected representatives of the Iraqi people.
Regarding the aim and objectives of Odierno’s outburst, it should be recalled that the Americans first tried to bypass the parliament and religious authorities to push the security agreement. However, they encountered strong reaction from political groups, religious figures and the Iraqi street. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in a recent meeting with Maliki, made it known that any deal with the US must be approved by parliament.
As the going got tough, and in a final bid to pressure the parliament to accept SOFA, the Americans visibly panicked and started raising irresponsible claims about “pay offs“ from Iran to the elected representatives of the Iraqi people.
The claim was indeed a big insult to the intelligence of Iraqi people and their parliamentarians. The American fury is rooted in the fact that its troops should leave Iraq by Dec. 31 based on a deadline set by the UN Security Council (UNSC).
America is desperately seeking to impose the security agreement so that it could, among other things, prolong its unwanted and unhelpful military presence in Iraq and overrule the UN deadline.
Bush’s America is trying to extend the occupation of Iraq and protect its trigger-happy soldiers by pushing for their judicial immunity as outlined in the proposed accord. In case parliament opposes the deal, US troops will not be allowed to step out of their barracks and should pack their bags sooner rather than later.
Experience has it that whenever Washington faces serious problems in implementing its “plans“ in Iraq, it rushes to its old and outdated policies of blaming others, in particular Iran, for interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs. Presently, America is doing all it can to harm the growing relations between Tehran and Baghdad and sow seeds of discord among Iraqi legislators.
The outcome of such recklessness will be nothing but more tension and insecurity. In order to reach the said goals, the US Defense Department recently paid 300 million dollars to private contractors in Iraq to convince sections of the media to provoke Iraqi public opinion against Iran.
The outrageous remarks by Odierno are yet another indication that the lame duck Bush and his aides have long run out of ideas and options in the Iraqi desert.
If and when they accept the ground realities, they will realize once and for all that six years and a full-fledged bloody conflict later they have no soft corner among the oppressed Iraqis despite getting rid of the cruel Baath Party dictator and his tyrannical regime.