"We were meant to be the Iraqi experts who would assist in re-establishing the Iraqi state in terms of public services, ministries, municipalities and governorates in order to bring them back to at least 70 per cent of their pre- war performance," he said. "But we gradually realised that there was in fact no advisory role for us. Our role was confined to implementing orders, going to ministries to single out the Ba'athists and the criminals and do administrative work. We were not asked for advice or sat on committees. The result was a situation on the ground which is getting worse by the day."
Alkhafaji's resignation comes at a time when the US administration's schemes in Iraq have been heavily criticised both in the Arab world and in the United States itself. The pressure is mounting on the Bush administration as the killing of American soldiers has become a daily occurrence in Iraq. Military operations conducted by what Iraqis believe to be resistance forces and what the Americans claim to be remnants of the Ba'ath Party have claimed the lives of 52 American soldiers since President Bush declared the end of combat operations in Iraq on 1 May. Tension and discontent among ordinary Iraqis are also simmering over the failure of the US occupying forces to restore order and basic public services to their pre-war performance. But what triggered the mess currently unfolding in Iraq, according to Alkhafaji, was primarily the US approach to post-war administration. "The problem," he explained, "is that there is no real interest on the part of the Americans to listen to the Iraqis. There is no approach to talk to them, seek their advice and know what the real problems were." Far from being party to the nascent nation-building project Alkhafaji sees the equation as one of dominance and dismissal.
"We were simply the victims of a sweeping American victory," he stated.
Isam AlkhafajiAl-Ahram Weekly interview Al-Ahram Weekly 7 - 13 August 2003
