Editorial: Rebuilding Iraq

Now that the war in Iraq is almost finished - with coalition forces occupying Baghdad and several other major Iraqi cities, with the power of Saddam Hussein's regime crumbling, and with the grateful Iraqi people tearing down statues of Saddam - the most difficult part of the coalition's campaign in Iraqi begins as it starts rebuilding a country ravaged by years of tyranny.

Although it is difficult to prescribe a specific program for how to rebuild Iraq without more detailed knowledge of the country, its infrastructure and the desires of the Iraqi people, one thing is certain: the U.N. should have an extremely limited role in rebuilding Iraq and should only be allowed to provide humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people. The U.N. - which through its earlier unwillingness to confront the genocidal despotism embodied by Saddam Hussein demonstrated its ineffectuality when confronting modern geo-political challenges - should have no hand in determining the future political structure of the country. Far too much of what the U.N. touches has a way of regrettably disintegrating into pointless squabbling and bureacracy, and the coalition cannot allow the U.N.'s influence to ruin the future of the Iraqi people.

Those countries that supported the liberation of Iraq - such as the the United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, the United States, Portugal and many other liberal, democratic countries around the world - should be the ones to advise the Iraqi people as they determine the future direction for their country. However, the coalition forces should not impose a government upon the Iraqi people; rather, the coalition must work with Iraqi leaders to form a government of the people and by the people of Iraq, that gives the Iraqi people the ability to democratically determine their political leaders and that protects the basic human rights of all Iraqis.

The immediate challenge for the coalition is providing humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people who have recently been liberated. The speed with which the coalition destroyed Saddam's regime means that the coalition must quickly provide this relief. Although the bulk of the relief will surely come from coalition nations and non-governmental organizations, the U.N. should be allowed to provide humanitarian assistance in order to help the Iraqi people as quickly as possible. The U.N. has some experience in providing aid to countries made destitute by corrupt regimes and valuable experience working with NGOs that would benefit Iraq.

Most importantly, the coalition and the rest of the world must recognize that the country of Iraq and its natural resources belong to the Iraqi people. The coalition freed Iraqi out of the goodness of its hearts and out of a belief that all people, everywhere, deserve basic human rights and liberty, but now it is time for Iraqis to take the lead in rebuilding their country.

Obviously, the coalition must remain in the country as advisers for a significant period of time, since the Iraqi transition to democracy will be neither short nor easy, and should provide assistance in rebuilding where necessary. Although the time and monetary commitments may be great, establishing a functioning democracy in the Arab-world and ensuring the rights and freedoms of millions of Iraqis make the benefits well worth the cost.