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03/18/03
Sadly,
the diplomatic game in the Iraqi crisis has come to an
end. President US, George W. Bush gives an ultimatum
to the Iraqi leader and his sons to leave Iraq or face
military conflict with the Coalition forces, led by
the US. It’s only 48 hours left for Mr. Saddam and
his sons to decide.
48
hours is not a long period of time, but it is not a
short period of time, either. It depends on the
circumstances. In this crisis, there is nothing much
one can do with 48 hours.
Life
is a game. Just like in games, there are winners and
losers. Sometimes, there are neither both as a result
of draws. But life is crueler than game and it is also
more lawless than game.
Thanks
to the international media and his conducts, for about
30 years Mr. Saddam has become a household name, not
only in Iraq but also in the world. Five years in a
row, Bill Gates has been the richest man on Earth and
has donated about $200 millions to support research on
AIDS. Gates never kills people. But despite all that,
Gates is barely a household name in the world. Even
some computer savvies perhaps do not know who is the
man behind the window revolution. This is the third
nature of life which makes it different from game: The
winners tend to be ignored.
But
this time, the winners must be honored and rebuilt.
The winners must not be abandoned and allowed to
disintegrate. After all, they have been suffered for a
long time. Whatever the outcome of this crisis, the
Iraqi people have to be the winners.
Much
of debates and critiques on the Iraqi crisis have
focused on “either my way or your way”. Both
sides, either on the Security Council, on the streets
and in the offices of leaders around the world, offer
similar tones. And some decide to stand undecided. In
the end, none of the parties was moving to explore a
more acceptable and peaceful way.
About
two months ago I predicted
that a peaceful solution to this crisis would be
achieved. The only light that is needed to spark the peaceful fire is
the willingness of Baghdad to a full disclosure of
their WMD programs. Put it this way: Baghdad should
start with a surprising move. I was betting on that,
on the good will of Baghdad to agree to the UN
Security Council resolution 1441. I was anxiously
waiting for about seven weeks not just for the sake of
predicting the outcome of the crisis correctly. But it
is because I dearly want a peaceful solution.
But after seven weeks, the peaceful solution is
doomed to hell. I was wrong. Baghdad is cold like the
Siberian winter. There is no one to light the fire.
And just like when it invaded Kuwait in 1990, this
time Baghdad plays the game badly again. Now, it only
has 48 hours to avoid war. If only we could turn the
clock back.
But
more important concern now is the future of the Iraqi
people, the subject that is ironically often missing
from any debates on the Iraqi crisis. Let’s hope
that the outcome of the remaining 42 hours (by now)
and after would be determined by the concern on about
25 millions of Iraqi people rather than concern on
anything else.
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