I may have missed it – but this is the first time I’ve seen the Wall Street Journal editorial board clearly state that it is urgent to provide security to the citizens of Baghdad.
The most urgent need is for leaders in both Iraq and Washington to do more to improve security in Baghdad. The White House has been right to point out that the media have missed many good news stories in Iraq, but current coverage probably understates the trauma of daily life in the capital. Iraq can survive the car bombs we hear about on the news. The real problem is more generalized lawlessness and a lack of basic services like electricity that have made normal life nasty, brutish and too often short.
Educated Iraqis are fleeing Baghdad in increasing numbers, a terrible sign for the country’s democratic future if the exodus is not stopped. The new government and coalition commanders may have to think in terms of a major redeployment of U.S. and Iraqi forces, with the aim of securing Baghdad at all costs. A 30-day plan for a more visible street presence and with frequent security checkpoints would be one place to start.
There are other good points in the editorial regarding the new, weak cabinet, made up mostly of “undistinguished loyalists” who have been awarded their posts on the basis of electoral results.
Serious ministerial competence is clearly required to create a government that can start delivering against expectations. The politicians were presumably distracted by campaigning for the past almost-two years. Well now the campaign is over – it’s time to figure out how to govern effectively. A time where help and advice from the US could make all the difference – and not a time to relax and retreat from responsibility for the outcome.
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