The capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a turning point in Iraqi history, but is not the be all to end all that most people are hoping for. The country is still in a state of ravaged disarray. For the Iraqi people, the capture is significant because it may prove that one chapter of Iraq's history may now be closed, but several others have now opened.

Saddam’s policies in Iraq have brought misery to countless numbers of people; Sunni, Shiite, Kurd, Christian, Jew - no sector of Iraqi society has been left unscarred. Since 1968, and the ritual hangings of political opponents in Baghdad squares to the 1979 purge of the Ba’ath party, to the Iraqi-Iran War (which many felt received Washington’s blessings), to the foolish invasion of Kuwait which truly began the demise of the Iraqi people. Whether Saddam was arrogant, ignorant, or delusional is irrelevant at this point. It is poignant, however, to remember that Saddam’s 35-year reign initially signaled an emergence of an Iraqi society of technocrats - highly educated and professional middle class in the 1970s - only to create and support policies that would see that middle class erode in the 1980s and eventually destroyed in the 1990s.

Before one examines the challenges that face Iraq one thing must be stated. It was Saddam, irrefutable evidence. Video footage of US medics administering care to Saddam prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is indeed Saddam that has been captured. His eye movements, his facial expressions, and his mannerisms are those of the former Iraqi leader.

After US forces entered Baghdad in April, Iraqis waited and watched. They were hopeful, yet fearful. This could be a new beginning, many felt. Many believed that they had been liberated. And then everything turned sour because of cultural ignorance. US soldiers who had no grasp of Arabic simply did not know how to conduct themselves. You don't charge into a man's house, see his wife and daughters in compromising situations, beat him to the ground, and then leave having realized your mistake and expect the man to say "Thank you for liberating me." And you don't push an old man down to the ground and put your boot over his neck because he refused to be searched. Iraqis won't understand that. I don't think anyone would. Actions like these mean one thing and one thing only: "You Iraqis lost the war and you are now to be disgraced."

Iraqis are a proud people. They have always been a proud people, which may help explain why wars in that area over the past 7,000 years have been bloody and vicious. Pride is everything, and honor is sacrosanct. This is the way of the Iraqi people, from the southernmost tip of Oum Qasr to the northernmost tip of Dahouk. All Iraqis, whether they are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Kurd, Yazidi, Sabaean, Assyrian, or Zoroastrian have honor and pride firmly embedded in their psyche. To misunderstand or to ignore such a psyche is to invite chaos.

All these must be taken into consideration as the way forward is paved.

So, what are the first immediate steps for an Iraq facing overwhelming challenges?

1. Saddam must be tried in Iraq, not in The Hague and not in Washington. Saddam's actions harmed, hurt, and destroyed entire sectors of Iraqi society. It is to them and to their victims that he must answer. It is to the Iraqis who died in the Iraq-Iran war, in the foolish invasion of Kuwait, and in the cat-and-mouse play with the UN during the 1990s that he must be held responsible.

2. One must not lose sight of the tribulations plaguing Iraq. Sectarian violence still threatens to rip the country apart. Infrastructure repairs are a long way off and the economy is still in disarray and offers a daunting task. Lack of electric power, fuel shortages, lack of adequate water supplies, insufficient supplies to hospitals that are poorly equipped, lack of security in the streets (rise in rape and abductions), and a rise in infant mortality still plague the country and must be the first responsibility of a new locally-elected government.

3. Re-politicization of the country must be rooted in the will of the Iraqi people. Elections must be held as soon as feasible. Any delay will just add to the disenfranchisement of the Iraqi people. Questions remain: will Iraqis get a one-person-one-vote democracy, or something less democratic in nature? Will the Shiites see their political aspirations realized? Will the Kurds move to secede from an independent, Ba’athist-free Iraq?

4. The Iraqi resistance is not linked to Saddam directly, say regional experts. Bremer has admitted that it is not likely that the resistance will subside in the short term. How the US soldiers conduct themselves in dealing with the Iraqi people (house demolitions, enforced confinement, collective punishment, collateral damage) will determine, partially, the political and security situation in the country.

The above must be addressed. The capture of Saddam is indeed spectacular, but Iraq is hardly a success story. The threat of civil war looms ever great; political forces in Iraq are likely to speed up their mobilization as they vie for a greater slice of government control.

The age of Saddam ended on April 9^th. Capture or escape is immaterial. Iraq is not Saddam and Saddam is not Iraq, as much as he may have wished it to be. Iraq is a country of 24 million viable, vivacious, innovative, and industrial people. Focusing on Saddam and declaring the war over would be irresponsible. The war is truly over when there is a pluralistic government in place, voted in by Iraqis themselves (not appointed), and based in a meshed concoction of Jeffersonian and Islamic principles.

Postscript: One cannot help but wonder if the capture of Saddam sent a shiver through other authoritarian regimes in the region.

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Firas Al-Atraqchi holds an MA in Journalism and Mass Communication. He is a Canadian journalist with eleven years of experience covering Middle East issues, oil and gas markets, and the telecom industry. You can reach him at firascape@hotmail.com

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