Will there be a coup d’état in Iraq? (2)

 

By Fatih Abdulsalam

 

Azzaman, February 4, 2010

 

The place of military coups in Iraqi political life, as I said earlier, needs more than one article. The reason is the fear that what now looks like a possibility will sooner or later turn into reality.

 

Some observers dismissed even the suggestion that there could be a coup in Iraq. Others think that talking about coups in present day Iraq is like breaking a taboo. Military coups, they say, are the opposite of democracy.

 

Theoretically, coups are impossible to occur in democracies. But concepts like democracy have little meaning if they are not tested and tried on the ground.

 

The democracy which we crave for means political stability for the advanced countries practicing it. This type of democracy is not there in our country.

 

Our democracy has been a restricted and conditional one. It has been confined to a limited circle of factions and personalities committed to a political program agreed to prior to the country’s occupation.

 

Therefore there has been a lot filtering and sieving to allow only those meeting the restrictions and conditions to pass and take part in governing the country.

 

Our situation has some resemblance to what takes place in Iran where only those loyal to the supreme clerical ruler are allowed to proceed. The others are stopped half-way through.

 

Some of the restrictions even bring to mind what was prevalent under the former regime which placed tough conditions for candidates nominating for its rubber-stamped National Assembly or parliament.

 

The conditions imposed by the Debaathification Commission are in fact similar to those under the former regime. There is not much difference at all. It may look that we have diversity but this diversity is within one species and not a privilege available across the board of the society.

 

The commission’s main blunder is its failure to distinguish between members of the former Baath party and those diehards with unwavering loyalty to Saddam Hussein as a cult and family.

 

Not every member of the Baath party was loyal to Saddam Hussein or his policies. There is a big difference between “Saddamists” and “Baathists”. The commission is treating both the same way.

 

This blunder has made every Baathist a Saddamist whther they like it or not. And who was not a member of the Baath party. Without registering in the Baath party, there was no possibility for getting a job. And the government was almost the sole employer.

 

This political recipe has drastically failed on the ground and achieved nothing for the Iraqi people. The only success we have is the general elections, but even these cannot be held properly without U.S. protection and in the presence of its troops.

 

Conditions like these become a fertile ground for military coups. When the political elites are immersed in corruption up to their ears, and the people are furious and angry, the majority would not mind a change even if it occurs via a coup.