Qadhafi’s warning

MR MOAMMAR Qadhafi is not the first person to have said that Iraq would become another Vietnam. In an interview with an American television channel on Sunday, the Libyan president observed that the issue was not the personality of Saddam Hussein but of the freedom of the Iraqi people. The people of Iraq, he said, would fight for their “own independence and not for the sake of Saddam Hussein.” There are, of course, many dissimilarities between Vietnam in the sixties and seventies and Iraq today. No one, for instance, is going to keep the “Iraqi Vietcong” supplied the way the real Vietcong were by China, Russia and other communist powers; nor does Iraq have a leader who could provide to his people the kind of leadership Ho Chi-minh did. Iraq’s desert terrain is not exactly suited to a long guerilla war, and its Arab neighbours have considered discretion to be the better part of valour when it comes to taking up positions that may not go well with Washington. Nevertheless, the Libyan leader’s remarks contain a grain of truth.

Nearly four months after the end of the Baathist regime, America is groping in the dark in Iraq. The weapons of mass destruction which Iraq was supposed to have possessed have not been found. This, together with the truth that has emerged about the doctoring of intelligence, has scuttled the very basis of the attack on Iraq. America stands isolated because the war was launched without a UN authorization. This way Washington bypassed not only some of its trusted European allies, besides Russia and China, but the world community at large. Now, faced with growing attacks on its soldiers, America desperately wants other nations to help police Iraq. This no nation is willing to do unless the UN is given a decisive role in running its administration pending the holding of an election.

At the moment, America seems determined to go it alone. This has given rise to the misgiving that the Bush administration — in which oil tycoons have a major say — wants to monopolize Iraq and its oil. All indications so far are that America’s occupation is open-ended. The interim council set up last month consists of men handpicked by US Administrator Paul Bremer. Iraqis consider some of the men on the council America’s stooges who enjoyed a life of luxury abroad while their people were victims of Saddam’s tyranny. No wonder, attacks on American soldiers continue to take place with regularity. If Washington does not want to get bogged down, it must come up with an exit strategy. Last month, in his report to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for a time-table for restoring Iraq’s sovereignty. He also noted that the Iraqis were getting “impatient” with the current situation.

Washington must heed this warning. Any elections held under the American umbrella will lack credibility. Consequently, a set-up that comes into being as a result of US-sponsored elections will give nothing but instability and chaos to Iraq. What is needed is Iraq’s political and military control by the UN. A UN-appointed administrative body must govern Iraq, with a gradual withdrawal of American troops and their replacement by UN contingents drawn from traditionally neutral nations like Finland, Ireland, Sweden, etc. Elections held only under such a set-up will be considered by the world to be transparent and accepted by the people of Iraq.

Tragedy in the North

THE tragic deaths of at least 45 people in a massive explosion that almost flattened the village of Gayal near Gilgit on Sunday could have been avoided had there been in place a mechanism to check the storage of explosives at unsafe sites or close to population. A contractor had kept 40 crates full of dynamite sticks, other explosives and detonators in his house for use in the construction of a water channel. A short circuit set off a fire which then detonated the explosives, leading to over 150 casualties. Eyewitness accounts suggest that initially when the fire broke out dozens of villagers came forward to extinguish it, unaware of the explosives. Had they been in possession of this crucial piece of information, they might have acted more cautiously and the ensuing loss of life could have been avoided. Unfortunately, that was not the case and even a day after the massive blast rescuers were still searching for missing villagers. Because of the mountainous terrain of the Northern Areas, dynamite and explosives are used in the construction of all kinds of infrastructure, from roads to water channels. That being the case, the local administration should have had in place a system of monitoring to ensure that explosive material was not stored in houses or places where an accident could cause such havoc.

Incidents like this one have happened from time to time, albeit with considerably fewer casualties, but the government, it seems, has not learnt any lessons. A crackdown on illegal fireworks factories should be ordered across the country and a system of employing inspectors to check for explosives should be instituted. Many chemical units also use potentially explosive substances. These should also be surveyed to ensure that those in possession of such material are at a safe distance from heavily populated areas. On its part, the Northern Areas council should now at least have the foresight to create such a mechanism to prevent any further tragedies

Stranded oil tanker

THE Tasman Spirit oil tanker that ran aground off the Karachi port last week has yet to be refloated and taken away to a safer position. Carrying a cargo of 62,000 tons of crude oil for domestic consumption, the chartered ship ran aground in one of the port’s channels during high winds. Two Greek tugs have been hired to refloat the tanker and transfer its oil to another vessel. However, this might take several more days, until which time the Tasman Spirit is perched precariously close to a Karachi beach frequented by thousands of people every day. When the ship ran aground on July 27, the KPT and the navy used five tug boats in an attempt to salvage the vessel but failed and then had to seek help from overseas firms. This should be a matter of concern to the communications ministry, which looks after the country’s ports because a contingency plan must be in place to deal with any ship running aground, especially one carrying oil.

Other than that, the approach adopted by the KPT vis-a-vis the potential damage that could be caused to marine life has left a lot to be desired. A KPT official deliberately downplayed reports of an oil spill from the vessel, saying that the leakage was “minor” and posed no threat to marine life. It is a matter of regret that no independent environment body was allowed to verify this claim, especially when one considers the fact that the ship has been stuck in the channel for almost a week and with such a large amount of oil in its hold. The KPT’s refusal is indefensible given the fact that the vessel is stuck in a channel close to the Clifton beach, which is visited by thousands of people every day. The communications and the environment ministries should have a plan to deal with such emergencies in the future and should examine a proposal made in this regard by the Maritime Security Agency. Also, the KPT needs to be more transparent about matters relating to environmental pollution of the sea under its jurisdiction.