In Iraq, 'Failure Is Not an Option'
Saturday, June 12, 2004
- Share:
WASHINGTON — The new Iraqi leadership under Prime Minister Iyad Allawi (search) acknowledges that security is the top concern in the country right now.
But the new cabinet is also anxious to remind onlookers of the big picture often lost in the day-to-day reporting.
"I think almost all Iraqis are so grateful to the brilliant work and vision of George W. Bush of liberating 27 million Iraqis last year — of getting rid of the most despotic, the most tyrannical, ruthless regime ever seen of Saddam Hussein," said Muwaffak Rubai (search), the interim Iraqi national security adviser. "We feel a sense of belonging back to us; we feel we are freed."
"Our success here means bad news for so many terrible governments who have a stake proving that democracy cannot survive in this region," added Barham Salah, the interim deputy prime minister. "It can be done; it must be done, and failure is not an option."
Markets are packed with Iraqis, electricity is more stable now than before the war, schools are in session and hospitals are fully operational.
Perhaps the biggest changes are happening in Iraqi's judicial system. The main courtroom in the central court of Iraq is where former dictator Saddam Hussein may face justice. It's just one of more than 105 courthouses that are now up and running in Iraq.
In recent weeks, five Iraqi judges have been killed by terrorists anxious to stop the progress.
Iraqi leaders know there will be more suffering to come — but it will come, they say, on the road to self-rule.
"Every person should be worried about his life, but I think the question should be, 'Are you willing to sacrifice your life to have something good?' The answer would be 'Yes,'" said Zuhair Al-Maliky (search), Iraq's chief investigative judge. "Iraq is full of patriotic people who are willing to re-establish their country, because they suffered a lot."
Click here to watch a report by Fox News Channel's Bret Baier.
- Share:
