Welcome To The Occupation

Growing signs of unrest in both Iraq and Afghanistan present a wake-up call to the West's occupying forces. Prosperity and security must quickly go to the top of the agenda.

In the last month at least 33 Iraqis have been killed and 80 wounded in violent demonstrations in the towns of Falluja, Baghdad and Mosul. Five US soldiers were killed in the space of a week. In Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, three German soldiers were killed and eight were wounded in a suicide bomb attack. 28 civilians were also wounded.

Civil unrest in both countries is deepening. More protests occur each week. And while the Western military occupation in Afghanistan is a year and a half older than that in Iraq, both share the same problem. Occupation has not brought about any measurable improvement in average living standards. In fact, while they are free from the despots that used to rule them, millions in Iraq and Afghanistan are poorer than they were before. Some are also more insecure and many worry about looting, robbery and organized crime.

Billions of dollars in aid were promised to Afghanistan after the Taliban were crushed back in 2001. Schools and hospitals would be built, roads would be repaired and the desert country's ancient irrigation system modernized and expanded. So far, little or nothing has happened and life is as bad, or worse, than before.

A similar pattern looks to be unfolding in Iraq. Half the population still doesn't have access to clean water or reliable electricity. Hospitals are desperately short of drugs and equipment. And many Iraqis were disappointed when Paul Bremer, the US official running Iraq, recently abandoned a pledge to create an elected ruling council of local dignitaries. In Iraqi towns like Falluja, Tikrit and Mosul, US troops are already deeply resented. This comes after only two months of occupation.

The people of Afghanistan and Iraq initially saw the Americans as liberators. That is changing fast and they are increasingly seen as unwelcome occupiers on foreign, holy soil. The only way to prolong the period they remain welcome is to actually improve the economic conditions in which the people live. Otherwise the violence can only grow.