Irak: les États-Unis doivent-ils se retirer maintenant?
Voilà un sujet d’actualité très épineux aux États-Unis. De plus en plus, beaucoup de sénateurs et de personalités politiques, tels Howard Dean, candidat démocrate à la présidence en 2004, le représentant à la Chambre John P. Murtha (Démocrate, Pennsylvanie) et le Sénateur John F. Kerry (Démocrate, Massachusetts et candidat à la Présidence en 2004), commencent à exprimer de sérieuses réserves quant aux plans du Président George W. Bush en Irak.
Ceux-ci, en majorité issus du parti Démocrate, croient que les États-Unis devraient, après presque 2 ans d’hostilités et un sinistre décompte d’environ 2100 soldats morts au combat, commencer sur-le-champ à retirer leurs troupes afin de les ramener saines et sauves en Amérique. Précisons cependant que le Sénateur Kerry souhaite un retrait “graduel” des troupes. Bien qu’ils aient au départ supporté la résolution du Congrès qui autorisait les États-Unis à envahir l’Irak en mars 2003, ceux-ci n’en veulent pas moins mettre fin coûte que coûte à ce qu’ils appellent du bout des lèvres “le nouveau Viêt-Nam”, sans manquer de s’attirer l’ire du parti Républicain et des partisans de George W. Bush.
Cette position trouve par ailleurs écho chez 19% des Américains, selon un sondage CNN/USA Today/Gallup publié le lundi 14 novembre 2005. Ces gens croient que les États-Unis devraient “rapatrier leurs troupes dès maintenant”, tandis que 33% souhaitent que ce soit fait “d’ici un an”. Seulement 38% des Américains sont d’avis que les troupes devraient “rester aussi longtemps qu’il le faudra”.
Les Républicains ont immédiatement dépeint la position de ces démocrates comme étant suicidaire et presque un acte de reddition de la part des États-Unis si elle était appliquée. Scott McClellan, le principal porte-parole de la Maison-Blanche, partage d’ailleurs cette position. Mais certains politiciens se démarquent de leur parti respectif, comme le Sénateur Joe Lieberman (Démocrate, Connecticut), qui a récemment rendu visite aux troupes en Irak lors du Thanksgiving, croit qu’il serait bien de pouvoir rapatrier les troupes maintenant, mais sait qu’il serait impossible de le faire. Lieberman s’est d’ailleurs dit “encouragé” par l’État du pays à l’approche des élections du 15 décembre prochain. Le Sénateur a d’ailleurs insisté sur le fait que les États-Unis devaient rester en Irak et “ne pas abandonner 27 millions d’Irakiens à la merci de 10 000 terroristes.” Howard Dean, quant à lui, croit que les États-Unis ne gagneront jamais la bataille en sol irakien.
Que faut-il penser de tout ça? Personnellement, après avoir échangé sur l’état des choses là-bas avec un soldat américain combattant en Irak (voir la transcription complète plus bas) et après avoir pesé le pour et le contre de bien des positions, je crois que les États-Unis devraient, même si je n’ai jamais vraiment supporté la guerre en Irak, laisser leurs troupes en place et continuer le travail. Retirer les troupes maintenant paraîtrait lâche, serait irresponsable et inviterait à de nouveaux épisodes de violence de la part des insurgés. Je suis donc du même avis que Glenn Beck, animateur du Glenn Beck Program, et commentateur conservateur de Philadelphie, qui dit que les États-Unis devraient rester en Irak parce que les Irakiens, tout en faisant leur juste part pour combattre les insurgés, comptent sur eux afin de rendre le pays plus civilisé. Si les États-Unis se retirent, les insurgés se feront alors une joie d’aller décimer des familles entières d’Irakiens simplement pour leur collaboration avec les États-Unis. Pas besoin d’un diplôme en sociologie pour comprendre ça. Et les affrontements reprendront de plus belle alors que des milliers d’insurgés expatriés en Iran et dans les autres nations environnantes convergeront en Irak afin de détruire le peu que les États-Unis aidés des Irakiens ont construit et plonger le pays dans le chaos le plus total. Beck croit aussi que lorsqu’on commence quelque chose d’aussi gros qu’une guerre, on doit aller jusqu’au bout tant que la victoire n’est pas assurée. Ceci dit, je crois donc en la volonté des États-Unis d’en venir à la construction d’un régime démocratique en Irak et de jour en jour je crois de plus en plus qu’ils réussiront.
Cependant, à la différence de Beck, je ne suis pas du tout certain de vouloir George W. Bush, Karl Rove et Dick Cheney comme éclaireurs… et je ne suis pas le seul. Des deux côtés du spectrum politique américain, on questionne de plus en plus les plans de l’administration Bush en Irak, et même certains Républicains en mal de popularité électorale commencent à prendre leurs distances par rapport au Président.
Et ce Président ne l’a pas plus facile du côté de la population: toujours selon le même sondage cité plus haut, 35% des Américains supportent la manière dont l’administration Bush s’occupe du conflit, tandis que 54% d’entre eux croient que la guerre en Irak fut une erreur. Du jamais vu depuis les derniers sondages.
En terminant, je vous laisse sur la transcription complète (anglais) de mon échange avec Chuck Norfield*, un soldat américain présentement en train de combattre en Irak. À la fin de cet échange, vous trouverez mes sources pour cette publication. Il est à noter que cet échange a eu lieu à la fin d’août 2005 et que bien des choses ont sûrement changé en Irak depuis.
— Début de l’échange entre Chuck* et moi sur la guerre en Irak —
le 23 août 2005, Xavier R. Dubé a écrit:
Hi Chuck*,
Well, my questions are not specifically about your deployment, but more about the war in Iraq (in general). I’m kinda tired of seeing the same thing every night on the news here and I thought I should ask someone who is deployed there so I can really know what’s going on right now. I used to be against the war in Iraq when it started, I almost supported it when Saddam was arrested, and now I think I’m against it.
If there’s anything you can’t answer, just tell me so and that’s that. You are kind enough to be willing to answer my questions without me insisting on anything… 
1. Initially, how have coalition troops been received by the Iraqis? Do they feel liberated or invaded? Do the Sunnis and the Shias think the same of the troops? What is your experience on that?
2. After the falling of Saddam Hussein and his arrest, did you notice a change in what the locals thought of the troops? Of what kind?
3. Which of the following is closer to what you believe: “America and other coalition troops have got themselves in a major quagmire” or “Each day that goes by, America and the coalition troops are making progress and eventually Iraq will become a democracy”? Why?
4. Before being deployed to Iraq, did you think the war was a good thing for America and the Iraqis? Has your opinion of the war changed now that you are there? Why?
5. Do you think things are going great in Iraq right now? Why?
6. Do you think George W. Bush was right on the money with the war?
Thanks a lot for answering honestly and helping me make my mind. This really means something to me because I don’t know what to think anymore and I think it can be very interesting to ask someone who’s actually been sent there rather than watching the news.
Have a nice evening,
Xavier R. Dubé
—
Le 23 août 2005, Chuck Norfield* a écrit:
Hi Xavier. These are questions I can answer and I’ll answer them to the best of my ability. This is my second time over here. I was over here right after the fall of Baghdad and then went home for about 10 months and came over here again. I work in a support unit so I don’t get off the base that much. Most of my contact with the Iraqi people came during the first deployment when I was out and about more often. However we have a lot of the locals working on our base so I can give you an impression based on the exposure I have.
1. Initially, how have coalition troops been received by the Iraqis? Do they feel liberated or invaded? Do the Sunnis and the Shias think the same of the troops? What is your experience on that?
Most of the Iraqis I’ve met are glad that the coalition troops came in and knocked Saddam out of power. My unit went into Iraq right after Baghdad fell. During the convoy there were a lot of instances where people would come to the side of the road and wave at and cheer to us. In Baghdad it seemed like 90% of the people there were glad we were there. As for which of those were Sunni or Shiite I don’t know. But I can say that at least around the area I’m in now, Sunnis make up the majority of the insurgents. For a little while I had to deal with prisoners and virtually all of them were Sunnis. Today most people seem to be kinda frustrated that things aren’t secure and going smoothly. Though they now realize that it’s the insurgents who are at fault, rather than the soldiers. Things quieted down considerably around here after the January elections and hopefully they’ll quiet down even more after the next round.
2. After the falling of Saddam Hussein and his arrest, did you notice a change in what the locals thought of the troops? Of what kind?
Our image seemed to go up in most of their eyes in the days after his arrest. Though it inspired others to go attack us even more. After a little while the mortar attacks against the base I was on increased. But most of the ones I ran into were happy. The local who worked on our base were thanking us and bringing us gifts for catching Saddam (even though my unit had nothing to do with his capture).
3. Which of the following is closer to what you believe: “America and other coalition troops have got themselves in a major quagmire” or “Each day that goes by, America and the coalition troops are making progress and eventually Iraq will become a democracy”? Why?
It’s really hard to say which of the two statements is true right now. In some ways we are making progress with getting the new Iraqi government going and getting the new Iraqi army and security forces trained. There’s been considerable progress there. But the battle against the insurgency is still an uphill battle. Some of those who fought us initially have decided to give up the fight and join in with the reconstruction. But Al-Qaeda’s involvement has made things extremely difficult. Most of the Sunnis are really pissed that they’re no longer the privileged ones that they were under Saddam and so they’re going to do whatever they can to get to that again. There’s a widespread fear that they’ll be oppressed like the Shiites were under Saddam and convincing them otherwise will be difficult. Also it’s really hard to tell who’s the enemy and who isn’t now. The insurgents don’t wear uniforms and blend in with the local population. Some of them even manage to get jobs on U.S. bases. There have been several instances of Iraqis getting caught going around stealing weapons or making maps of the base or even calling in mortar attacks on their cell phones. The battle against the insurgency is far from over.
4. Before being deployed to Iraq, did you think the war was a good thing for America and the Iraqis? Has your opinion of the war changed now that you are there? Why?
I wasn’t sure if the war was good for the U.S. at the time especially since we were already involved in the fight against Al-Qaeda in Afganistan. But now that I’ve been over here and talked to some of the Iraqi people I think we did the right thing. Whether it’s good for the U.S. I’m not sure. But I think that it’ll be good for the Iraqis in the long run. In making the new government, the Iraqis need to have provisions allowing for women’s rights and freedom of religion. If they do that, even if they use Islam as the basis for their law things will work out. I’ve heard a number or stories of what Saddam and his henchmen did over here from the people I met in Baghdad. So I think we did the right thing in coming over here. And since we did come over here and start this, we have to stay and finish it and do it right. If we pull out now then what’s been built so far will fall apart.
5. Do you think things are going great in Iraq right now? Why?
I wouldn’t call things “great” over here. The insurgents are commiting terrorist acts all over the place. I wouldn’t call the attacks against the coalition troops to be terrorism though. That’s to be expected in a war but the attacks against the civilian population (car bombs in markets that aren’t being used for military purposes for example) are outside the rules of war and is therefore terrorism. It’ll be great when all that stops.
6. Do you think George W. Bush was right on the money with the war?
No, I don’t think Bush was “right on the money” with this war. Saddam’s threat was exagerated. While he was a threat I believe that he was at best a regional threat. He was a threat to his own people and his neighbors but that’s about it. I don’t think he was a direct threat to the U.S. and other Western nations. As for whether Bush lied about Saddam having weapons of mass destruction just before the invasion, I can’t say for sure. Saddam did have them in the past and he was screwing with the U.N. inspectors for years before the invasion. More than likely Bush got his information from faulty intelligence reports. I have mixed feelings now about the timing of the war. Part of me is glad that the Iraqi people don’t have to live under a tyrant anymore but another part of me thinks that Bush should’ve concentrated the U.S. forces on eliminating the Al-Qaeda and Taliban in Afganistan. I think that if we had commited the resources we have now in Iraq to Afganistan instead then we would’ve probably caught or killed Osama bin Laden by now and elimimated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda threat completely.
SPC Chuck Norfield*
HHC 125th FSB
Camp Taji
APO, AE 09378
U.S.A.
* = Chuck Norfield est un pseudonyme. Le soldat m’a bien spécifiquement demandé de taire son nom, par mesure de précaution. J’ai aussi enlevé des parties de son texte qui n’avaient rien à voir avec le sujet dont nous traitons.
— Fin de l’échange entre Chuck et moi sur la guerre en Irak—
Sources:
White House: Murtha’s call is ’surrender’ :
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/18/murtha.iraq/
Lieberman ‘Encouraged’ by Iraq Visit:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/28/AR2005112801179.html
Lieberman: We Must Stay in Iraq:
www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/11/29/100805.shtml
“The Glenn Beck Program”, animée par Glenn Beck et diffusée à la radio le 6 décembre 2005 de 9 AM à 12 PM
Chuck Norfield*, soldat américain déployé en Irak deux fois
