Dissident or Apologist?

The Iraqi-American writer and Brandeis professor Kanan Makiya is nowadays considered by many in the United States to be the Iraqi dissident par excellence. Known in the 1990s as the author of two books on Iraq, Republic of Fear and Cruelty and Silence, Makiya's image as the voice of Iraqis was enhanced after the Administration initiated its "regime change" discourse and started preparations for an invasion of Iraq. As the subject of numerous interviews and stories in such major media as the Boston Globe, the New York Times, PBS and NPR, Makiya is usually quoted to justify an invasion and occupation of Iraq. He has also been working with the State Department to devise plans for a post-Saddam Iraq and is advising Vice President Cheney. During the second week of January he was one of three Iraqi-Americans who met with George W. Bush in the Oval Office to discuss the future of Iraq in the post-Saddam era.

While most Iraqis in the diaspora agree with Makiya on the necessity of ending Saddam's tyranny, one need only pay a visit to the independent, encyclopedic Iraq information site nahrain.com to see that Makiya and his views are not popular. A recent article ridiculed him as "the American paper tiger."

Meanwhile, more than 500 exiled Iraqis of various ethnic and political backgrounds have signed the "No to war on Iraq...No to dictatorship" petition. While condemning Saddam's reign of terror, the petition stands against a "war that would cause more death and suffering" for "innocent Iraqis." It also calls for an "immediate lifting of the economic sanctions" and demands "the implementation of UN Resolution 688 of April 1991, which stipulates ending oppression and ensuring basic human rights in Iraq. Such measures together with free elections under UN supervision could usher a genuine democracy...including a federal status for Kurdistan and an end to political, religious, and ethnic or gender discrimination."

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