The Foreign Service Journal, March 2004

forces as liberators — an assumption based on the fact of the Shiite uprisings in southern Iraq in 1991, in the aftermath of the first Gulf War. American officials do not seem to have taken seriously enough the possibility that the Shiites might welcome their liberation from Saddam Hussein but still view the Americans as unwel- come occupiers who would need to be persuaded, and if necessary compelled, to leave Iraq as soon as possi- ble. Again, an overestimation of the role of Ahmad Chalabi may help account for this miscalculation. Chalabi is a Shiite, and based on that fact, the Pentagon’s planners initially believed that he would enjoy considerable support from Iraq’s Shiite majority. But it rapidly became clear to American commanders on the ground in postwar Iraq that the aristocratic, sec- ular Chalabi enjoyed no huge natural constituency in the country, least of all among the observant Shiite poor. The Americans gravely underestimated the impli- cations of the intense religious feelings that Iraqi Shiites were suddenly free to manifest after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Making religious freedom possible for the Shiites was one of the great accomplishments of the war, as administration officials rightly claim. But the Shiites soon demonstrated that they were interested in political as well as religious autonomy. And although the Americans provided the latter, their continued presence in Iraq was seen as an obstacle to the former. … The Next Steps Whether the United States is eventually successful in Iraq, even supporters of the current approach of the Coalition Provisional Authority concede that the United States is playing catch-up. … And the more time passes, the clearer it becomes that what happened in the immediate aftermath of what the administration calls Operation Iraqi Freedom was a self-inflicted wound, a morass of our own making. F O C U S 28 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 4 Home Suite Home The next time you’re going to be in DC for an extended stay, make yourself at home at Georgetown Suites. With our discounted monthly rates and large, comfortable suites, you’ll feel right at home. Plus we’re near the State Department. Call today! Georgetown Suites the fun place to stay in DC 1-800-348-7203 www.georgetownsuites.com sales@georgetownsuites.com