Iraqis today, seven months after Saddam’s ouster, have differing opinions on how to create a stable, prosperous civil society, but they do agree on a number of things:

1. The Anglo-American presence in Iraq is not considered one of liberation, but one of occupation. The lessons of the British occupation of Iraq in the period 1921-1958 (1958 was the year the British-enforced monarchy was overthrown in a bloody, vicious revolution), and particularly the British-orchestrated coup in 1941 against the government of Rashid Aali (Arab nationalism was the government’s platform) are not lost on the middle-class Iraqi today. Some Iraqis suspect that the only way the US can consider their invasion a success is to install some puppet government, a Saddam clone who is rather keen on pleasing Washington.

2. The Iraqi Governing Council is considered a cruel joke at best and a foreign weapon of domination - a proxy legate - at worst. A prominent University of Mustansiriyah professor who formerly headed a history department warned that the violence in Iraq will not subside but rather increase several-fold in the weeks and months to come. He suggested that the American public exercise some wisdom and compassion for “their young boys and girls who are caught in this mess,” and that the American government transfers power over to the Iraqis as soon as possible. He called for “an Iraq ruled by the will of the legitimate Iraqis.” When prodded further to explain the meaning of “legitimate,” he would only say that Iraqis deserve a government that represents them and not someone else. (At press time, sources in Washington indicated that the Bush administration is frustrated at the apparent bungling of the IGC to garner public support and work on a constitution. The IGC members have been accused by some White House officials of corruption and bickering amongst themselves. The word in Washington is that the US is seeking to either dissolve the IGC or appoint an interim president. This would prove rather difficult as the council members have been known to fight amongst themselves over supremacy of the interim ruling body.)

3. The country is being robbed blind by US conglomerates and a White House that cares only to cement its financial ties with special interest groups. Several weeks before the invasion of Iraq, I had a phone conversation with a prominent Iraqi-American bio-medical engineer in Maine. He was furious over reports that Iraqi companies would be shut out from the reconstruction process. “We have many skilled and educated professionals in Iraq. Why are they shutting us out?” The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq says that foreign companies doing reconstruction business in Iraq employ thousands of Iraqis. However, there are no Iraqi companies that have been awarded independent contracts. Iraqi companies that are given a portion of reconstruction responsibilities usually do so under Halliburton or Bechtel proxy. Iraqis also point to reports that there is near-exclusivity in how reconstruction bids are awarded in Iraq: many of the Bush administration’s biggest campaigners and supporters are given multi-billion dollar Iraq contracts. The Center for Public Integrity, a Washington-based research facility (which is dedicated to investigations and analyses of public service, government accountability and ethics related issues) charges that 8 billion dollars worth of lucrative reconstruction contracts were practically handed to Halliburton and its subsidiaries, many of which were formerly presided over by US Vice-President Dick Cheney. The report goes on to say that “As CEO of Halliburton, Co. prior to becoming vice president, Cheney helped to secure US government loans to various foreign companies with which Halliburton did business. One of these, a Russian company named Tyumen Oil, Co., is accused of corruption. Under Cheney, Halliburton also successfully secured billions in US government contracts…”

4. Iraqi Resistance will likely grow and become deadlier. Iraqis know they are in for a difficult time ahead. Last week, White House officials privately hoped that the suicide attacks on the Red Cross (ICRC) and previously on the United Nations compound would convince Iraqis that the resistance was barbarous and against their best interests. The hope fizzled as Iraqis took to the streets not only blaming the CPA for lack of security, but also blaming Israel for orchestrating the attacks “to undermine security and stability in Iraq and pit one side (Shiite and Sunni) against another.”

North American media pundits have seen fit to give very little room to Iraqi voices of dissent; Iraqi opinions of the reconstruction effort, or lack thereof, are drowned out by the number of proponents of the Iraqi war - Friedman, Krauthammer, Gaffney, Rice - who repeatedly cite the number of free newspapers that have blossomed in Iraq recently, some 300 newspapers and magazines. However, a number of these newspapers have been closed by US forces raising concerns that the press in Iraq was not that free and could only print news US forces found acceptable.

The situation in Iraq for the Iraqis themselves is so hopeless that many are finding renewed strength and hope in the Iraqi resistance, according to a CIA report released last week. The report cites the lack of faith in the US forces and the lack of progress in infrastructure development as two reasons why many Iraqis are increasingly supporting the resistance movement.

At press time, violence and attacks had spread far beyond the “Sunni Triangle.”

Firas Al-Atraqchi is a Canadian journalist of Iraqi heritage. Holding an MA in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has eleven years of experience covering Middle East issues, oil and gas markets, and the telecom industry. You can reach him at firascape@hotmail.com.