The road to failure in Iraq

Last updated at 13:30 12 April 2004


Another day, another litany of violence and American tactical blundering as "post-war" Iraq sinks closer to anarchy.

Explosions echo across Baghdad... another helicopter is shot down... US troops provoke fury with a midnight raid on a mosque... more pictures of terrified hostages and dead civilians.

And, most disturbingly, American commanders are losing control. Significantly, the ceasefire in Fallujah has happened, not because of what the US forces were doing, but at the whim of rebels who remain there, still armed to the teeth.

So how are the Allies responding? US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld denies there is a problem, insisting the unrest is a "powerplay" by a small number of "increasingly desperate terrorists".

And Tony Blair - whose decision to take a holiday in Bermuda at this time will cause many a raised eyebrow - remains as keen as ever about American tactics.

But the reality of Iraq could not be more different from the rhetoric of British and American leaders. For it is becoming more ungovernable by the week.

How can they argue that a death toll of more than 50 Allied soldiers and hundreds of Iraqis in a week is a mere hiccup?

How can they ignore the gangs of youths, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and guns who roam unchecked in Sunni strongholds?

Why can they not see, as two-thirds of the American people can, that Iraq is in danger of turning into another Vietnam?

And if this happens, the Allies will have only themselves to blame.

They have allowed Iraqi society to fall apart by dismantling the civil service, armed forces and police.

And they failed to understand that, in the chaos following Saddam Hussein's overthrow, the country would become a magnet for fundamentalist terrorists.

The result is that a year after Baghdad's "liberation", Britain and America face the worst of all worlds.

If their forces stay, they will be a target for rebels and an enemy uniting factions that have fought each other for centuries.

But, if they go before finishing the job, they will leave an isolated and powerless Iraqi administration and give their enemies the opportunity to claim a military triumph against the West.

There can be no question of abandoning Iraq in this state. Instead Mr Blair and George Bush should acknowledge that their policies have failed and devise a strategy of transferring responsibility gradually to the United Nations.

Power should only be handed to the Iraqis when they are able to exercise it properly - not to meet an arbitrary deadline set by the American President.

And America should accept that peace cannot be imposed by brute military force.

One thing is certain. If the Allies maintain their present approach, Iraq will plunge deeper into chaos, increasing the risk that the West will suffer a humiliating defeat in the war on terror.

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Thoughtless cuts

Drug-related offences, violent crime and illegal immigration are all on the rise. This country is under daily threat from international terrorism.

So how is New Labour making good its commitment to tackle some of the most serious problems facing this country?

Why, the number of police officers seconded to the National Criminal Intelligence Service is to be slashed by two-thirds. Deep cuts are also planned in the number of civil servants trying to cope with the crisis in asylum and immigration.

Yes, we want leaner and more efficient services. But surely it makes no sense to make such cuts when these organisations face their toughest challenges.

So much for joined-up government.

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