It Isn't a Liberation?

Russia's Foreign Minister doesn't seem to think so

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Wednesday poured scorn on claims by the United States that its forces were "liberating" Iraq, saying these assertions were far removed from reality.

Ivanov told Russia's upper house of parliament: "It is already becoming clear how far removed from reality are their attempts to present military action against Iraq as a triumphant march for the liberation of the Iraqi people with minimal casualties and destruction."

Someone is "far removed from reality" and it isn't the US in this case. I couldn't find a better quote of his remarks and it seems the other news reports about this have the same or nearly the same text, so I'll go on what I've got here.

A liberation is an action that objectively adds to the overall freedom of someone or some people. A liberation can be as small and simple as repealing a bicycle helmet law or as grand and sweeping as defeating Nazi Germany and opening up the concentration camps. Calling the former a liberation is certainly misleading in the contemporary idea of the term, but it is technically correct. Most people believe a liberation, however, is of the latter variety; a large-scale de-suppression of people.

What Mr. Ivanov is saying here is this can't be a liberation because we're hurting civilians and destroying infrastructure. This doesn't address his claims, however. For this war to not be a liberation, it would either have to preserve the status quo or increase government opression. I have a feeling Russian government officials are familiar with how that kind of thing works.

It is, of course, undeniable that there won't be a full representative and liberal government in Iraq for some time. There is too much military work to be done before that can get put in motion. Even afterwards, what amounts to a public re-education campaign must be enacted in order to literally "free the minds" of the Iraqi citizens and get them to understand the new way of doing things. I have no doubts much of this work over the next few years will be done by Americans and foreigners rather than Iraqis.

The key question is whether temporary American regents are better or worse than Saddam Hussein and his government. Anyone who suggests such an interim administration would result in a overall decrease of freedom or a return to the status quo is simply blind or a partisan angling for a story. Such a claim requires substantial evidence to back it and that evidence is sorely lacking.

The first small steps have already been made. Southern Iraq is objectively a freer place than it was two weeks ago. People are speaking freely, tearing down the old power structure, and working towards ending the Ba'ath Party's system. Mr. Ivanov should keep his words in mind and take another look at them two weeks from now.

I have a feeling he wished he'd never said them.

Posted by Drizzten at March 26, 2003 08:50 AM