Iraq: let the Iraqi people decide on their constitution!
5 October 2004

US colonial rule is coming under attack both in Iraq and internationally. Each day, on average, one US soldier dies at the hands of the resistance.

The US administration is desperate to both minimise the threat to its forces and broaden the number of countries that are involved in the imperialist occupation.

Washington seeks to get support for its rule in the UN and get troops from other countries to share the burden of death.

But crucially, inside Iraq the USA is trying to integrate sections of the Iraqi political elite into supporting the occupation by suggesting that elections are not too distant a prospect and that Iraqis can participate meaningfully in the drawing up of a new constitution.

Trouble is, nobody believes the USA.. In large parts of the country the US and British troops are hated. The new rulers have created over 13 years of sanctions and two wars such inhumane conditions in the country (no electricity, no water, mass unemployment and impoverishment) that many look back wistfully on the days of stability and certainty of the pre-war days.

Despite all the generous promises of cash to rebuild Iraq the country rots. Even the right wing US-based Institute of International Finance had to admit this in a recent study. It came to the conclusion that even if oil prices are favourable, stability is achieved and debts are largely written off (which are at $134bn or 400 per cnt of gross domestic product), Iraq's economy will not reach even half the size it was in the 1970s in the next 10-15 years.

According to the IIF there is no prospect of mobilising the necessary $75bn which is the minimum the country needs for reconstruction. Given the perilous state of the infrastructure and the political instability the IIF is pessimistic about the prospects for foreign investment. In short, the IIF expects Iraq to remain an impoverished country for many years.

Not surprisingly within weeks of the US military victory the Iraqi people started a national liberation struggle. Even more and more pro-Western journalists have to admit that the occupiers are hated by the people. Those resistance fighters who die in guerrilla attacks are admired at home as martyrs. Regular mass protests against the US administration are often brutally repressed and demonstrators shot.

Even the closest allies like the exile Iraqi and millionaire Ahmad Chalabi – often seen as "Pentagon's man" are increasingly distancing themselves in public from their masters to avoid increasing isolation in the country. Also in the US selected 24-head "government council" (the 25th member fell victim to a guerrilla attack last week) there is growing concern about the unashamed colonial arrogance of Bremer's lackeys.

The British newspaper Observer quotes a disillusioned Kurdish member of the council, Mahmoud Othman: "They (the Americans, WPG) want to keep all the control for themselves. (..) When you are not controlling the budgets, when the security file is not under your control, and when you cannot create jobs, what can you do? It is better to give up."

A good example for the real impotence of the government council is its attempt last week to overrule an announcement by the Finance Minister that a new investment law would allow foreign firms the right total ownership of Iraqi companies and the right to repatriate their profits immediately. The announcement, which senior Iraqi political sources said was largely shaped by American officials, caused an uproar among Iraqi businessmen. But American officials forced the council to back down.

Given the growing resistance in Iraq US needs urgently military and financial support from the other imperialist powers. 137,000 US and 12,000 British soldiers obviously are not sufficient to pacify the resistance. But France, Germany and Russia are not prepared to send troops if the political and military command remains in the hands of the USA. Therefore only military dwarfs like Denmark and Poland have volunteered for such emergency services.

Of course no one should be under any illusions about the "enlightened and civilised" character of Chirac, Putin and Schröder. The first has recently sent troops to Congo. Russia meanwhile has slaughtered the Chechen people for years and organised a presidential election this weekend which can be compared with Hitler's referendums. And Schröder joins the intervention in Congo and rivals Bush for the dubious honour to be embraced as Putin's friend in public.

Replacing pro-consul Paul Bremer with a vassal of Berlin or Paris is no answer to Iraq's nightmare. Only the Iraqi people have the right to decide the future of the country. Yes, indeed Iraq needs a new constitution but this should be not drawn up by Bremer's scribblers but by a Constituent Assembly freely elected by the Iraqi people.

But the pre-condition for free elections is the end of the occupation. This is why anti-imperialists – indeed all democrats – should fight for the immediate withdrawal of the US troops and their allies. This is why we not only demand this from the rulers but also support the military resistance and all protests against the occupation.

Now read: more articles on the Iraqi resistance