Seumas Milne should get out more

By Gary Kent

Seumas Milne increasingly reminds me of the Japanese soldier who denies that the war is over and hides in the jungle for years. His pow-wows with unrepresentative Iraqi insurgent warlords while he derides the elected Iraqi Government make him look ludicrous. One feels that he cannot forgive the Iraqis for choosing peace over violence and for seeking reconciliation as opposed to an “anti-imperialist” and sectarian bloodbath.

Milne should get out more and speak to elected Iraqi politicians and civil society organisations. Anyone looking at Iraq in the round would acknowledge some of his charges but would also be astonished at his refusal to recognise Iraqi successes.

Yes, there is continuing violence but it has been drastically cut. UK troops are going soon and US troops will go within a timescale agreed by the Iraqi government. Iraqis also want to normalise relations with their neighbours and stop them sustaining sectarian politics and insurgents.

Yes, there is continuing sectarianism and tensions between those who want a more centralised politics and the Kurds who wish to maintain substantial autonomy within Iraq. The status of Kirkuk and other disputed territories is an unresolved issue that could flare up.

Yes, there is corruption and bureaucracy which the Iraqi Prime Minister says is an evil akin to terrorism. Corruption steals from the people and deters external investment. The government is cutting form-filling which provides the means by which officials extort money.

Yes, there is still a problem with internally displaced people and people who have fled Iraq. The large Iraqi Diaspora dates from the 1970s when Saddam consolidated his stranglehold. Most have built new lives abroad and will find it hard to return. The recent wave of exiles includes Baa’thists accused of brutal crimes and are unlikely to return. But it also includes professionals who are badly needed by Iraq whose government is trying, with some success, to encourage their return.

Yes, there are still shortages of electricity and water, partly through higher demand as more people use their greater spending power and partly because the infrastructure was targeted by the insurgents. Increased stability and security will enable these gaps to be plugged.

Yes, the position of women is worrying although this is relative to the rest of the region. There have been major improvements since the Sadrist militia were turfed out of control of Basra and Sadr City. The position of women in the generally more secular Kurdistan Region is much better, although so-called honour killings and female genital mutilation are opposed by the government.

The emergence of non-sectarian trade unions is a great advance but I concede the continuation of Saddam’s draconian restrictions and some new ones. We urged the Iraqi Prime Minister in Baghdad to recognise that unions are allies in rebuilding Iraq and many unions are campaigning for full union rights in Iraq.

I would mention unemployment and under-employment although unemployment has decreased and the average monthly wage has increased substantially, whilst inflation has fallen.

Saddam killed hundreds of thousands, bled the economy dry, neglected the oil industry, all but destroyed agriculture, deterred most tourism and wasted billions on external aggression. However, Iraq has massive reserves of oil gas and other minerals, religious tourism has increased massively and investors from many countries are queuing up to invest and trade, as desired by the sovereign government. Iraqis are hungry for change and are ambitious about making up for so much lost time.

Milne should stand on the new runway in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan which will be the fifth largest in the world and enable Erbil to be a major commercial hub. Milne should examine the plans for a massive new port at Basra, the 50,000 seat Basra Sports City stadium and the new Baghdad metro. He could study plans for new schools, homes and hospitals, sewage, water and electricity plants and new dams. Confidence in the future is illustrated by the fact that Iraq is probably the only country in the world where property prices are rising. But this would be to recognise that a new Iraq is emerging and, I presume, somehow exculpate American imperialism in his monochrome analysis.

Milne would have more credibility if he acknowledged positive changes in Iraq as well as shortcomings – a humanitarian and balanced warts and all approach.

Many positive aspects emerge in a major survey of Iraqi public opinion in February. 65% say life is very or quite good for themselves and 57% for Iraq. 80% expect things to be much or somewhat better or the same for themselves in a year, whilst 86% think the same for Iraq as a whole. 85% say the security situation is very or quite good. Their focus is moving from security to bread and butter economic issues. There are very high levels of confidence in the Iraqi army, police and national government whose PM basks in a 55% approval rating.

As for the future political system, small minorities of 14% and 19% respectively support dictatorship or an Islamic state but 64% support democracy defined as government with a chance for the leader to be replaced from time to time. This has increased by half in one year.

Labour Friends of Iraq works with many Iraqis and the newly formed Conservative Friends of Iraq. We have sent two delegations there and hosted many meetings with Iraqi delegations here. We seek political, cultural and commercial relations with Iraq where English is the second language, Britain is respected and where a new generation of leaders wants mutually beneficial connections.

Perhaps we now need a new coalition to stop the war in Iraq the war being waged by the rag-bag of Al Qaeda and other insurgents against Iraqis. A new alliance could work with Iraqis to help them reconcile people in a country shattered by dictatorship, occupation and insurgency and help them stand on their own two feet.

The new Iraq needs all the friends it can get. Their fight for democracy and prosperity has begun in the most difficult circumstances. Their success would be a strategic victory for democracy and decency. Maybe then Milne could leave the jungle and join the real world.

Gary Kent
Director, Labour Friends of Iraq