Water, Power Scarce in Iraq

Three years after the end of Hussein's tyranny in Iraq, access to basic utilities still remains scarce. (USAToday: Iraqis thirst for water and power)

The article, originally published in the Christian Science Monitor, states, "While last summer public anger was directed at the U.S. government, today it's as likely to be aimed directly at Iraq's interim government and officials."

While it's certainly convenient to blame either the interim government or the US for the shortages, it's also very shortsighted. The problems lie not with any lack of committment to rebuilding the infrastructure, but rather with an insurgency that destroys elements of that infrastructure as soon as it's reconstructed. That the US and the Iraqi government bear the blame shows just how successful a very small group of insurgents can be in fighting an urban war.

Destruction of the Iraqi infrastructure should demonstrate to the rest of the Muslim world how far removed these extremists are from the tenets of Islam. Yet, they appear blind to that fact. The people suffering the most from the actions of the insurgents are Muslims. The people being killed by these insurgents' acts of urban terror are Muslim. The tactic most often deployed in Iraq is to inflict harm on Iraqi citizens, not a direct attack on US troops. It's an effective tactic in that it turns public opinion against us. It's also a clear demonstration of how far removed these insurgents are from mainstream Islam. If only the rest of the Islamic world would come to that same realization.

Technorati: Iraq news insurgents
IceRocket: Iraq news insurgents