War of Ideas, Part 3
- Информация о материале
- Автор: Thomas L. Friedman
Published: January 15, 2004, New York Times
During the next six months, the world is going to be treated to two
remarkable trials in Baghdad. It is going to be the mother of all split
screens. On one side, you're going to see the trial of Saddam Hussein.
On the other side, you're going to see the trial of the Iraqi people. That's
right, the Iraqi people will also be on trial — for whether they can really
live together without the iron fist of the man on the other side of the
screen.
This may be apocryphal, but Saddam is supposed to have once remarked
something like: Be careful, if you get rid of me, you will need seven presidents
to rule Iraq. Which is why this split-screen trial is going to be so important.
Either Saddam is going to be laughing at us and at Iraqis, saying "I told
you so," as Iraqis are squabbling and murdering each other on the other
side of the screen.
Or, we and the Iraqi people will be laughing at him by proving that
it is possible to produce something the Arab world has rarely seen: a self-governing,
multiethnic, representative Arab government that accepts minority rights
and peaceful transfers of power — without a military dictator, monarch
or mullah standing overhead with a stick.
You don't want to miss this show. This is pay-per-view history. If,
somehow, Iraqi Kurds, Sunnis, Turkmen, Christians, Assyrians and Shiites
find a way to embrace pluralism, it will be a huge boost to moderates in
the war of ideas all across the Muslim world. Those who scoff at the idea
of a democratic domino theory in the Arab world don't know what they're
talking about. But those who think this is a done deal don't know Iraq.
If Iraq is going to be made to work as a decent, pluralistic, self-governing
entity, noted the Iraq expert Amatzia Baram of the United States Institute
of Peace, all the key factions there will have to accept being "reasonably
unhappy." All will have to settle for their second-best dream in order
to avoid their first-class nightmare: chaos or a return to tyranny.
Islamists will have to accept being unhappy that the system does not
mandate Sharia law as the constitution, but only "reasonably" unhappy,
because Islam will be the official religion of the state and respected
as an important basis for legislation and governance. Secularists will
have to accept being unhappy that Iraq's new basic law gives Islam an important
symbolic place in governance, but only "reasonably" unhappy, because this
secular law and judges will still provide the basis for a new rule of law.
Kurds will have to accept being very unhappy not to achieve their dream
of an independent Kurdistan, but only "reasonably" unhappy, because the
special autonomous status of the Kurdish region will be concretized in
Iraqi law.
The Sunnis will have to accept being unhappy that they are no longer
controlling Iraq and its oil wealth, but only "reasonably" unhappy, because
they will discover that they still have a significant role in the parliament,
and a share of the nation's oil wealth in their own provinces, thanks to
the new Iraqi federalism. The Shiites will be unhappy that, now when their
majority political status will finally be realized, power and resources
are going to be diffused throughout a federal system and constraints are
going to be placed on the power of the majority. But they will only have
to be "reasonably" unhappy, because there will eventually be a Shiite head
of government, and the very federalism that disperses power and resources
will also enable Shiite provinces that wish to adopt a more Islamist form
of government to do so.
"Let us put aside the literary phrase `We are brothers but others are
dividing us,' " wrote the thoughtful Arab columnist Hazem Saghieh in Al
Hayat. "We in Iraq and elsewhere are not brothers — there are problems
we inherited from our own history and social makeup, which were not helped
by oppressive modern regimes. . . . Let's be frank: the Shiites today scare
the Sunnis; the Sunnis and the Shiites together scare the Kurds; and the
Kurds scare the other minorities. . . . All the ethnic groups of Iraq have
the responsibility of putting nation-building above their selfish and conflicting
calculations."
In short, our most serious long-term enemy in Iraq may not be the Iraqi
insurgents, but the Iraqi people. Can they live together reasonably unhappy
at first, and then grow reasonably happy? If they can, we will be Iraq's
temporary midwife, helping give birth to its democracy. If they can't,
we will be Iraq's new, always unhappy, baby sitter, and the old one, Saddam
Hussein, will be laughing at us all the way to the gallows.
Russian version
An introduction to MAOF
Haim Goldman
Haim Goldman
Dear Friends,
Would you believe that the undersigned has anything in common with
-- Professor Victor Davis Hanson (Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University),
-- Dr Charles Krauthammer, (Washington Post, Time, The Weekly Standard),
-- Caroline Glick (Deputy Managing Editor of the Jerusalem Post),
-- Jonathan Tobin (Executive Editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent).
Amazingly, the editors of the MAOF website decided that the missives of the undersigned are worthy of translation and posting along the articles written by these distinguished authors.
The first letter was published without the consent of the undersigned.
However, after thorough examination of the laudable attitude of MAOF and of the excellent contents of the website, the undersigned had most graciously granted his permission for publication of his missives in both English and Russian.
“Analytical Group MAOF” [1] is an organisation founded about ten years ago by Russian-speaking Jewish intellectuals. The attitude of MAOF is definitely pro-Zionist -- unambiguously and unapologetically.
One of MAOF’s primary purposes is providing information and analysis about Middle-Eastern and world affairs as well as about Israel’s history, values and dilemmas. In addition to extensive publication activity in various media, MAOF also organises excursions and seminars. While the vast majority of the contents of the MAOF website is in Russian, texts originally written in English are provided in the original [2] as well as in Russian.
There are arguably about 250 millions of Russian-speakers worldwide and many of them do not read English. The indisputable motivation for the author’s permission was to grant those millions of disadvantaged people the grand benefit of reading the author’s ruminations. If the author is ever maliciously accused that his tacit motivation for authorising the publication was his craving to be listed along with the above-mentioned distinguished writers, his plea will definitely be “nolo contendere”.
The editors of MAOF expressed their gratitude by granting the undersigned a privilege that no other author got – the opportunity to review and correct the Russian translation before publication. The original letters of the undersigned are at [3] and their Russian version is at [4]. At of today, only two letters are posted but several other letters are pending translation.
You are kindly ENCOURAGED TO RECOMMEND the MAOF website to your friends and colleagues worldwide, particularly those who speak Russian. Those who do not enjoy the benefit of proficiency in the exquisite Russian language can find many thought-provoking and inspiring articles about Middle-Eastern and world affairs in the English section [2].
Sincerely,
Haim Goldman
28.10.2006
REFERENCES:
[1] http://maof.rjews.net
[2] section.php3? sid=37&num=25
[3] authorg.php3? id=2107&type=a
[4] authorg.php3? id=2166&type=a