EDITORIAL - Guarded optimism

The world welcomed with guarded optimism the return of sovereignty to Iraqis this week. Washington seemed only too glad to hand over the reins of government in Baghdad to Iraqis, advancing by two days the formal turnover that was originally scheduled yesterday. The world was hardly surprised.

The US-led invasion of Iraq was supposed to make the world a safer place. The attack was expected to be another one of those swift, surgical strikes that can be staged only by the world’s lone superpower with its advanced defense techno-logy. Washington hawks dreamed of democracy finally taking root in the Middle East, spread by Iraqis rejoicing over the end of the brutal reign of Saddam Hussein.

The war was swift and lethal. Saddam’s government collapsed in ignominy and the dictator was later smoked out from a hole in the ground. Yet those who opposed the invasion could not forget that the casus belli for the war – Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction – were never found. As the occupation dragged on and body bags with the remains of coalition soldiers piled up, realization dawned that the same iron hand that Saddam used to keep his people under his control also kept Islamist extremism out of Iraq.

Now it has been established that the US decision to attack was based on flawed intelligence and there was no definite link between Saddam and al-Qaeda. Washington squandered much international goodwill by ignoring cautionary voices, and the occupation became the worst nightmare for a US president up for re-election in November. Iraq has become a magnet for all types of Islamic extremists from around the world, and they used the coalition occupation as their casus belli for terrorism.

With the United States turning over sovereignty to Iraqis last Monday, the extremists have lost their biggest recruitment tool. The international community, cautiously optimistic, has expressed willingness to help Iraqis rebuild their war-torn country. If Iraqis want democracy, getting there will be a long, wild ride. They will need all the help they can get.