Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to the Oct. 13 column "Post-Saddam life still difficult for Iraqi citizens." The title alone sums things up pretty well. Things really are difficult for Iraqi citizens. The United States has mired itself in a no-win political scenario, at odds with the United Nations, the Iraqi people and many American citizens. The economy of Iraq is in tatters, her people hungry, jobless, angry and afraid. Then again, is anyone really surprised?
I do not pretend to be an expert on post-war economic reconstruction, but I do know some things about basic macro-economics. The first of these is that every change takes time. History has shown time and again that sweeping economic growth can take years, even decades. After the Revolutionary War, America endured a lengthy economic depression. Germany took decades to emerge from the economic cloud that descended upon it after World War II. Russia and the former Soviet Union still have not recovered from the political-economic repercussions of the fall of Communism.
We cannot simply "fix" the Iraqi economy. There is no economic infrastructure in place. We cannot simply "create" jobs, no matter how much money we throw at the nation. The artificial creation of jobs would result in an enormous surplus of goods in a country where people cannot afford to buy them, which would only cause the economy to collapse again.
While we can make efforts with financial and humanitarian aide, an economy must be self-supporting. Outside nations can help, but they cannot create an economic boom for the Iraqis. These people, whose potentially lucrative oil-based economy has been squandered by years of oppression, must lift their own country out of the ashes. The economy must be given time -- possibly years -- to grow after political stability has been achieved.
It is this political stability that the coalition is trying to create. Some Iraqis and Americans have called for an end to the American occupation. No one wants more people to die, after all. However, Iraqi laws will do no good without sufficient troops and police to enforce them. A sound democracy cannot exist without order. Until Iraq has a stable, self-sufficient government and is ready to begin its own economic development, American troops, regrettably, must stay.
Mike Sayre
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