Like a good neighbor

Whatever final form the Iraqi new government takes after June 30, the officials selected should be democratically minded and secular. They also should hold a commitment to a strategic partnership with the United States, not the country’s autocratic neighbors.

The U.N. special envoy, Lakhdar Ibrahimi, will soon propose more concrete ideas about the caretaker government that will take the country through its transitional period.

Regardless of the final proposals, the government put in place must be populated by individuals who are independent of regional interests and who have a commitment to a strategic U.S. partnership. Otherwise, Iraq will not be able to stand on its feet to eliminate the destructive intents of terrorists, nor be able keep at bay the meddling neighbors who fear a successful and democratic Iraq.

Any government that comes to power will stand a much better chance of establishing credibility than the current Governing Council (GC).

Destructive voices that contest the legitimacy of the current GC have either been anti-American by dint of politico-religious extremism or by ties to the former regime, or they have been encouraged by neighboring countries. The great moderate middle has been at least willing to give the GC the benefit of the doubt. The same will apply to the caretaker government.

These destructive voices will be silenced if the United Nations chooses the new government. It will go down better with the people than exclusively U.S. appointments. Few will be able to claim that it is another group of lackeys hand-picked by the “occupier.”

The new government will have much more policy-making and budgetary powers than the current GC. Hence, it will impact the daily lives of more Iraqis and it will be forced to be in closer touch with the needs of the people. The caretakers will therefore automatically be more popular simply because they will be the ones delivering the goods, not the “occupation forces.”

All the more reason why these appointees need to be clean, honest, secular and have the best interests of Iraq at heart.

Current extremist groups or proxies of neighboring countries will diminish in popularity if the caretaker government is powerful enough, has strong international backing and is able to improve, with U.S. help, the security situation.

While coalition control of security might be excusable today, the U.S. military will need to step back after June 30 so the Arab regimes and their satellite channels will have less reason to claim that “occupation continues.”

A strategic alliance with the United States will be a key to the success of the new Iraqi setup and in the creation of a healthy democratic framework. Iraqis cannot afford to settle for “compromise” figures. Theocracy is theocracy, and democracy is democracy, and there can be no middle ground between the two. Any compromise will undermine the entire process.

The buzz in Baghdad today is that Iran is in closed-door negotiations with the United States over the first Shia prime minister for Iraq. Any appointee with a track record of loyalty to Tehran or any other regional capital will carry the seeds for disaster. No matter what the United States offers, loyalty ultimately will remain with Iran. Partnership with the United States will be short term and tactical, not strategic.

No Iraqi wants to look back at this period and say that the United States rid Iraq of Saddam and handed the country over to an Iranian-made government.

To Iraqi moderates, liberals and democrats, a successful Iraq is one that is strong and enjoys a strategic partnership with the United States.

Some might say that cleansing Iraq of its neighbors’ political interests will amount to nothing short of another handpicked pro-American government. But Iraqis will see it differently. A casual survey of the autocracies and theocracies in the Middle East will convince any thinking Iraqi that their only way forward is to ally themselves with a country that wants to see a democratic success story in Iraq.

The past 10 months have illustrated all too clearly that neighboring capitals can jeopardize the Iraqi political process through their proxies inside and outside the GC. Turkish hands are visible in Kirkuk’s ethnic tensions; Syria’s hands are all over the Sunni Triangle; Iranian hands are manipulating the Shia religious movements and figures.

Iraq cannot survive this overwhelming interference. The only way to avoid continued meddling is through brave Iraqi pioneers who are willing to stand up for a strong strategic partnership with the United States in building a truly democratic Iraq.

Hiwa Osman is a Baghdad-based journalist.