Emigres who advised US on Iraq 'didn't know the ground'

The Straits Times, April 28, 2007


IRAQ shows how complex the issue of leadership transition in the Middle East is, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said.

'When the Americans announced their aspiration to democratise Iraq, I held my breath,' said Mr Lee at a forum for young Arab and Asian leaders.

'I thought to myself, this is a 4,000-year-old society going to be transformed by a society that has only got - if you go back to the Mayflower - 400 years of history.'

He added to laughter from the audience: 'A British professor wrote an article in the London Times, which I read, which said that it requires a suspension of disbelief.'

Mr Lee made the point in replying to a question on whether the position of Minister Mentor, 'created as part of leadership transition', could be mimicked in other countries.

'I would not dare to venture into giving advice to Arab leaders,' said Mr Lee, adding that Arab countries were varied and complex.

Taking the case of Iraq, which the United States invaded in 2003, Mr Lee said: 'Now we know how complex the problem is because if you cast your mind back, it was said, they'll be welcomed as liberators by the Shi'ites in the south, but that was only a temporary phase.

'And the Shi'ites between themselves, there's a Moqtada Al-Sadr faction, there's this other faction. Each has its own dream.

'There's a Chinese phrase which says, same bed, different dreams. It's a very ancient civilisation that has seen this kind of problem repeated over the centuries.'

He added: 'You have opened Pandora's box. What do you do now?

'Would anybody have the wisdom to tell...the emigres, who advise the Americans what to do in Iraq, that they have been abroad for 20, 30 years and they didn't know what was the ground sentiments and feelings and loyalties?'