The grass always seems greener across the fence...

The grass always seems greener across the fence...

So the war is over, the media tells us. At least we can breathe a
sigh of relief that it lasted only about three weeks, and not the
months -- or even years -- that some armchair pessimists were
predicting.

At this point it may be as well to reflect on how things are
panning out in Iraq from our perspective over here, in Indonesia.
That ubiquitous beast, corruption, appears to be rearing its ugly
head again.

Countless, independent surveys have highlighted that Indonesia
is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and possibly
the most corrupt in Asia. Corruption over here seems to be
getting totally out of hand in the so-called reform era. At
least, as many have observed, one knew where the limits of
corruption were in the "good ole" Soeharto days.

But is it really that different over there in the West, and in
the U.S. in particular? Is the grass really greener on their side
of the fence? Or, is it the case, as some cynics have wryly
noted, the West has been at it for far longer, and knows how
better to cover it up?

Throughout 2002, an endless list of U.S. companies became
infamous for their involvement in corruption and collusion, the
"KK" in the "KKN" so beloved by those in the media these days.

Enron, Worldcom, Tyco -- the list goes on -- were all found to
have engaged in dishonest accounting practices -- theft, to you
and me -- and had colluded with their external auditors to
mislead the outside world about what was really happening inside
those companies. Arthur Andersen, one of the world's largest and
hitherto highly respected accounting firms, has all but collapsed
as a result of the subsequent revelations.

The billions of dollars involved, the number of people whose
financial future was destroyed, makes what is going on over here,
even alleged corruption within the Jakarta city administration,
seem like small beer in comparison.

So what about the "N" -- nepotism in "KKN"? Surely that's not
happening over there! Well, let's take a look at what is going on
in Iraq in the immediate post-Saddam situation.

As the coalition powers ultimately decided to go ahead with
the attack on Iraq without explicit UN approval, relations with
the UN have become strained, to say the least. Quite apart from
the strong antiwar stand taken by France, Russia and Germany, it
seems that the UN is likely to be effectively shut out of the
all-important reconstruction phase in Iraq. (Observers have also
noted that the nations above may not have been quite as
principled as it seemed at the time, given the amount of business
and political capital that all three had invested in Iraq.)

U.S. government representatives have already said that the UN
will have a "vital" role, but not the lead one, which will, of
course, fall to the U.S. It already seems that the plum (i.e.
very commercially attractive), postwar reconstruction contracts
for rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure are likely to go to a
variety of American firms, including oil industry services
company Halliburton, which, until 2000, had Vice President Dick
Cheney on the payroll as chief executive.

Surely an old Texas oilman like George W. Bush is not going to
be handing out favors to his cronies in the oil industry?
Needless to say, French, Russian and German firms should not hold
their breath in the wait while these decisions are made ...

It is already well known that the Pentagon "wargamed" (carried
out extensive simulations of) the war in Iraq in great detail and
from every possible angle for months before the attack started.

At the same time, art historians and archaeologists from all
over the world, but particularly the Middle East, begged and
pleaded with the Pentagon to ensure that the numerous,
irreplaceable treasures from Iraq's Mesopotamian past, housed
largely in museums, be protected once Saddam was defeated.

It seems, from the extensive looting -- including the
ransacking of museums and hospitals and theft of vital medical
supplies and equipment -- which took place once Baghdad was seen
to have fallen, that the Pentagon's war games, comprehensive as
they were, must have stopped at the fall of Saddam.

They do not appear to have considered what would happen in the
total breakdown of civil law and order that would surely follow
his defeat. This lack of preparedness makes the Jakarta city
administration's floundering about during the 2002 floods seem
like the epitome of good civic governance.

Finally, it seems that the U.S. government is keen to install
former exile Ahmad Chalabi as the civilian head of a new Iraqi
government as soon as circumstances permit. Unfortunately, as the
Pentagon-sponsored candidate, he seems to be having difficulty in
gaining the acceptance of the local people, without which, of
course, it would be impossible for him to govern.

His shady past, including a conviction for financial
impropriety, seem to have tarnished his reputation as the
potential new leader of the Iraqi people. That would be the
equivalent, say, of a leader of the Indonesian legislature trying
to continue in office after he had been convicted of corruption.

That could never happen over here, could it?

-- Jim Read