Iraq, No Peace in Sight Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD, FICS

Email this page Print this page

Many other countries and some trucking companies have also pulled out or scaled back their operation. These include: Egypt, Kenya, and some trucking companies in Kuwait, Jordan, and Turkey.

After the three Indian truck drivers were kidnapped, the Indian media has focused on the Indians still working in Iraq. The Indian TV channel, Zee TV, has shown truck drivers who are claiming that there are many Indian truck drivers and other workers still in Iraq. According to these people, the Indian workers are being held in a virtual bondage. They are being forced to work and are not allowed to leave. The people who were interviewed claimed that they were able to escape and consider themselves lucky because they have survived. One of these people said that at first, the kidnappers were very nice to them and would help them, including giving them money to return to India. The Indian workers were told that the kidnappers had nothing against them and that they should leave. But now, the kidnappers have become more aggressive and they want to break the supply lines of the coalition forces because these workers form an important supply line for the coalition troops.

The Indian government wavered on the issue of supporting the Iraq war. The previous BJP government had almost decided to send troops to Iraq, but cancelled the idea after encountering tough opposition in the country on this issue. After the three Indians have been kidnapped in Iraq, the issue of Indian supporting or opposing the Iraq war has again become a very prominent issue. The leftist supporters of the Congress government have increased pressure on the government to categorically state its opposition to the war.

The Islamists have particularly targeted the Iraqi security forces in order to prove to the world that the Iraqi government cannot function without American support. Besides weakening the supply lines of the coalition troops, the Islamists have also tried to disrupt the oil pipe lines. Without the oil revenues, efforts to rebuild Iraq can suffer a severe setback.

At present, the Islamists seems to be succeeding in their efforts to disrupt the reconstruction efforts in Iraq. According to the Indian truck drivers who have been able to escape from Iraq, there is widespread panic in the foreign workers in Iraq and many want to get out of there.

More and more Iraqis are getting frustrated with the situation. They are losing all hope in the provisional Iraqi government. American public opinion is also now running against the war. Prime Minister Tony Blair's labor party has suffered some of the worst defeats in the by elections and in some local elections.

If the situation in Iraq does not improve, which seems very likely at this point, then Iraq may become a major issue in the November presidential elections. Whether President Bush faces a situation like his father did in the previous Iraq war remains to be seen.