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AFTER THE WAR
Smell the Kofi
A roundup of the past two weeks' good news from Iraq.
BY ARTHUR CHRENKOFF
Monday, June 27, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
A prominent politician recently penned this opinion piece for the Washington Post:
Today I am traveling to Brussels to join representatives of more than 80 governments and institutions in sending a loud and clear message of support for the political transition in Iraq.
A year ago, in Resolution 1546, the U.N. Security Council set out the timetable that Iraq, with the assistance of the United Nations and the international community, was expected to fulfill. The Brussels conference is a chance to reassure the Iraqi people that the international community stands with them in their brave efforts to rebuild their country, and that we recognize how much progress has been made in the face of daunting challenges. . . .
As the process moves forward, there will no doubt be frustrating delays and difficult setbacks. But let us not lose sight of the fact that all over Iraq today, Iraqis are debating nearly every aspect of their political future. . . .
In a media-hungry age, visibility is often regarded as proof of success. But this does not necessarily hold true in Iraq. Even when, as with last week's agreement, the results of our efforts are easily seen by all, the efforts themselves must be undertaken quietly and away from the cameras.
Who is this unreconstructed optimist who, going against most media reports, refuses to acknowledge that Iraq is fast descending into hell? If you answered George W. Bush, Dick Cheney or Condoleezza Rice, you're wrong. If you answered Tony Blair, John Howard or Silvio Berlusconi, you're wrong too. The correct answer is Kofi Annan.
Two years and a democratic election later, the international community, deeply skeptical if not hostile at first, is now increasingly coming on board to help Iraq make the transition to a normal country. While stories of violence dominate the news, these international and domestic efforts to rebuild Iraq after decades of physical and political devastation continue to pick up pace. Below is a selection of past two weeks' worth of stories which, if they get reported at all, usually are drowned by the tide of negativity.
Society. The joint American-European Union conference on Iraq held in Brussels (the one Kofi Annan mentioned) has mobilized a significant section of the international community to rally behind Iraq:
Nations from around the world gave their full backing to the new Iraqi government's road map for reform Wednesday, promising support, expertise and aid as Iraqis work to secure order, rejuvenate the economy and draft a new constitution.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari presented their transitional government's vision for Iraq at a one-day international conference that brought together more than 80 senior officials from the U.N., the European Union, the United States and nations as far away as Fiji.
In other diplomatic news, "Iraq will begin restoring full diplomatic relations with Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, officials said Wednesday--ending more than a decade of frozen ties with its Arab neighbors..."
