Crisis in Iraq

A sense of triumph was in the air during the downfall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq in 2003. I still vividly remember watching on T.V. the faces of many Iraqis rejoicing over the toppling of Saddam’s statue, hoping for freedom, safety and peace. Little did they know that 3 years down the road, they would still be struggling to cease the violence.

Nothing much has been achieved ever since by the US-led coalition, and if anything, humanitarian situation is worsening, as revealed by the Red Cross latest report.

"The suffering that Iraqi men, women and children are enduring today is unbearable and unacceptable," said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). "We are not seeing a stabilising effect yet," from the launch of U.S.-led coalition forces in Baghdad, he said.

That echoes a report by the Oxford Research Group think tank, which said UK and US policy towards Iraq had "spawned new terror in the region".

There is a lesson for the US to be learnt from these findings – the disastrous situation is a clarion call for the US to withdraw its troops from Iraq. The US needs ensure that the lives of ordinary people are spared. The US has failed in achieving “freedom” for Iraqis as freedom doesn’t mean one worrying about their life every second. Freedom doesn’t mean one confined to one’s home when going out becomes a question of life and death. The troops should leave as they haven’t succeeded in crushing the voilence, but have instead made things worse.

What the US has left Iraqis with is not a hope for freedom, security or peace, but a sense of trepidation. They were perhaps better off under Sadam’s regime!