A. AS THE IRAQ WAR NEARS AN END, NEW CONCERNS SURFACE
The fear of a prolonged war, the use of weapons of mass destruction, domestic terrorism and substantial loss of military and civilian life - have all subsided. It seems as if the Iraq army has folded, never really mounting a cohesive defense against Coalition forces. The most significant resistance in the Iraq War seems to have been the Fedayeen, irregular soldiers and suicide bombers. They could continue to make parts of Iraq unsafe for quite a while. Even though the Saddam regime has crumbled, it appears the closure to this war may be more difficult than has been in prior wars. With no one apparently left in control of Iraq, there will probably be no armistice or official surrender. Since the fate of Saddam may not be known for some time, if ever, it could prolong holdouts and terrorist activities.
Though the initial dire consequences of the War are vanishing, new and difficult issues have arisen. First, is the need to quell the anarchy, looting and lawlessness that is ramped in most Iraq cities since the fall of the Saddam regime. Besides restoring order to Iraq, and abating growing Iraqi resentment to Coalition forces for not responding sooner, the next big issue is, "Who and how will Iraq be governed?" The International community is squabbling over this issue, with France, Russia and Germany, all concerned with how they can now benefit from rebuilding a post war Iraq since they were such strong opponents against the War. The former two countries are also concerned with the recovery of billions owed to their countries by Saddam's regime. The controversial U.S. backing of ex-patriots, especially Ahmad Chalabi, who has been absent from Iraq for decades, combined with the recent assassination of religious leaders, creates a leadership vacuum that may be very difficult to fill. Finally, one of the biggest issues of all is finding weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq. It appears Coalition forces were ill prepared to quickly contain some palaces, ministries, museums and a hazardous nuclear reactor site from plundering. As a result, useful information about WMD and Saddam's relations with terrorists may never be found. Without material needed to justify the war, International resentment to the U.S. will not subside, especially by the Arab people, for a very long time. Far worse, would be if WMD slipped out of Iraq, it could greatly increase the magnitude of future acts of terrorism.
Though it seems the Iraq War will succeed in avoiding the destruction of much of Iraq's infrastructure and oil fields, and resulted in fewer loss of lives than many expected, it is apparent that these new concerns over Iraq will linger for some time. Unfortunately, they may continue to impact our economic recovery in ways we may not have anticipated. Most importantly, it is hoped that any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq did not fall into any diabolical hands and that we can feel more secure, not the reverse, over potential terrorism. With respect to international trade, just as the U.S. scoffed at French goods in the beginning of the Iraq War, there may be increasing anti-American toward the usage of our goods and services abroad. Tourism into and even out of the U.S. may decline; further hurting hotels, airlines and tourism. The concern of a deadly flu-like virus, SARS, is also affecting foreign travel and is compounding the problems in these industries. Diplomatically, the U.S. may also find itself much more isolated and less effective in influencing global issues. However, certain companies, like Vice President Cheney's former firm Halliburton that obtained a non-competitive bid possibly worth over a billion dollars, as well as Qualcomm, if its CDMA is selected over the European GSM standard in Iraq, could greatly benefit greatly. Top
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