Steven Groves in his article “Advancing Freedom in Iraq” raises the problem of the further development of Iraq and the role of the USA in it. The authors theses sound rather explicit though the general tone of the article reflects his personal opinion. It is impossible to say that the author is impartial in his judgements. The aim of the article is to describe the current situation in Iraq and to persuade the reader in the positive role of the U.S. authorities in the promoting of the democracy in the country.
The author does not deny the complexity of the situation in Iraq, as well as the problems with which the government and non-governmental organization face. Nevertheless, the author is apt to think that without the U.S. authorities interference the situation will be worsened. The article will be interesting for those who concern themselves with the situation in the given region and with the politics in general.
From the very beginning of the article the author sends a clear message that the only acceptable way for Iraqs further development is the development of the democratic institutions on the model of the Western pattern. “Iraq’s best chance for long-term stability is to develop democratic institutions that will protect the basic civil, political, and human liberties and rights of the Iraqi people” (Groves 1). At the same time, the author ignores the fact that it is the country of another culture. Groves does not take into consideration that the autocratic leadership style is one of the particularities of the countries of this region.
The important role in the promoting freedom and democracy in Iraq is given to the U.S. Agency of the International Development (USAID) and the different non-governmental organizations. According to Groves opinion the conduction of the democratic elections is not enough for building the robust democratic society. The author asserts that it is necessary to improve the democratic freedoms, to change the attitude towards women, to improve the observance of the human rights.
All these issues are the focuses of the attempts of the above-mentioned organizations. Special attention is given to the activity of the non-governmental organizations, whose main purpose is the involving the ordinary citizens in the political process. In order to emphasize the meaning of the USAID for the democracy promotion, the author gives the statistic data concerning the establishing of the new Civil Society Recourses Centers and their activity.
The author also underlines the meaning of the USAID for the creation of the new independent media network. According to the authors opinion all the mass media which had been acting under the Saddams regime were completely subdued to the centralized power. Establishing the new media groups, the USAID promotes the new democratic approach of the local mass media functioning.
In the final part of his article, the author tries to predict the effect of the U.S. military withdrawal. All the variants of the case scenarios described by author are far from being optimistic. According to Groves, the only result of the military withdrawal, even under the happiest circumstances, will be the war. And he is rather convincing in his arguments.
In general, in his article Groves gives quite a vivid review of the situation in Iraq. His usage of the statistic data makes him sound rather persuasive. At the same time, the article is not just the mere statement of the facts. The authors negative attitude towards the Saddams regime may be seen practically in every paragraph of the article. It must be also admitted that sometimes the author lacks the authoritative sources. Thus, the description of the circumstances of the military withdrawal is the personal opinion of the author. In spite the fact that it is difficult not to agree with Groves, he does not conform his view with the opinions of the other experts. The author is convinced that it is possible to rearrange the political system of Iraq according to the Western pattern ignoring the mentality of the local population.
Works Cited
Groves, Steven. “Advancing Freedom in Iraq.” Backgrounder, 30.6 (2007):1-4.Print.