Despite nearly a decade of American military presence, a functioning democracy has still not manifested itself in Iraq, at least in the opinion of the Iraqi ambassador to the United States.
Samir Sumaida’ie, who was appointed as Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S. in 2006, spoke to a group of Duke students and faculty at White Lecture Hall Thursday evening. He addressed a range of issues related to Iraq—from the country’s origin to its future political standing.
“In America, 100 years is a long time—in Europe, 100 miles is a long way. In Iraq, neither is true,” Sumaida’ie said.
Sumaida’ie— exiled from Iraq in under Saddam Hussein’s regime—shared his beliefs about Hussein’s effect on the Iraqi people.
“I saw a completely shattered city—not only the infrastructure, [but] the people had changed,” he said. “It was a great mistake the Americans made in not finishing off Saddam Hussein’s rule in 1991.”
Sumaida’ie recounted the horrors produced by Hussein’s Iraq, noting that there have been nearly 2,000 suicide bombings in the country since 2003. He also spoke of his return to Baghdad after 26 years in exile.
“I did not recognize it,” he said. “[Baghdad] was a shadow of its former self.”
Although Sumaida’ie noted the devastation Hussein caused to Iraq, he said there is hope the country will return to its former glory in future generations, recalling the flourishing Iraq that he knew in his youth.
“I remember Baghdad as a child,” Sumaida’ie said. “It was peaceful, orderly—a city in which people tended their gardens, looked after their children.... By and large, the country was coming up in the world.”
He acknowledged the difficulties that stand between the Iraq of today and the state that its citizens want it to become.
“Iraqis suffered the losses, but we crossed that bridge, and I believe we are on the other side,” Sumaida’ie said. “The process of putting Humpty-Dumpty together has started.”
Sumaida’ie had unique insight into U.S.-Iraqi relations, Mbaye Lo, assistant professor of the practice for Asian and Middle Eastern studies, said.
“He is a living history of the two countries’ relationship,” Lo wrote in an email Thursday.
He also discussed the American intervention, noting that the U.S. was ignorant to the realities of Iraq’s political situation upon its invasion.
“[The U.S.] toppled Iraq, but they had no idea what they were getting into,” he said. “They didn’t have a clear vision of what to do after they deposed the regime.”
As one of the authors of Iraq’s previous constitution, Sumaida’ie said the processes of writing a new constitution for the country is a struggle and perhaps premature.
“In my personal opinion—not representing the government—the Americans pushed us too early to write our own constitution and have our own elections,” he said. “Simply electing your leaders does not constitute democracy.”
Although he said he does not agree with some of the actions the U.S. took in Iraq, Sumaida’ie concluded his lecture with a message of hope for a relationship between the two countries.
“[The U.S. and Iraq] have managed to forge a bond because of that common experience and common struggle, and this bodes very well for the future,” he said.
Sophomore Lekë Badivuku said he appreciated the ambassador’s comments on the ethics behind instituting a democratic process where historically there had not been one.
“It was really interesting to see his personal stand, along with his official government position because it was clear he displayed both,” Badivuku said.
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