The Iraqis Must Have Jobs

Angry demonstrations by thousands of suddenly unemployed Iraqi soldiers outside the Baghdad headquarters of U.S. occupation forces Monday should not have surprised anyone. Left without pay, scrambling to feed families, the troops are demanding one of life’s basics: a job. If the United States, the new ruler of Iraq, goes through with plans to soon add hundreds of thousands of other government workers to the unemployment rolls, the nation’s economic condition will become still more chaotic. Officials should put layoffs on hold until they provide new jobs.

The Bush administration knew before invading Iraq that almost one-third of the nation’s workers held government jobs and nearly two-thirds relied on United Nations food rations. Averting disaster depends on keeping workers paid and fed. Yet nearly eight weeks after U.S. troops took control of much of Baghdad, the nation’s political and economic life is in great disarray.

Washington already has replaced its first overseer of Iraq’s reconstruction. The new civilian administrator, L. Paul Bremer III, said he understood why former soldiers were angry but that he wouldn’t be blackmailed into creating job programs by threats of suicide attacks on U.S. troops. Of course, but Iraqi threats aren’t the reason that the U.S. should do the right thing.

Until new jobs are created, the occupation forces should keep paying all but the highest-ranking civilians of Saddam Hussein’s former government. A new army may number 100,000, but it will take time to form, and about 400,000 ex-soldiers will be left in need of jobs.

The top task for U.S. forces remains establishing security. Iraqis must be able to get to school and to what jobs still exist without fearing shootings and robberies. After underestimating the lawlessness that has followed Hussein’s ouster, U.S. generals have increased troop strength. As any number of international organizations pointed out before the war, many troops will be required for many months to ensure stability.

As a U.S. election year approaches, it certainly will be a tough sell to convince Americans that this nation must finance jobs for Iraqis when it can’t find jobs for millions at home. The difficult and expensive long-term commitment required to rebuild Iraq was one of several reasons why this editorial page opposed invading in March. But once the United States decided to charge, the nation assumed a moral obligation, as well as a high stake in holding on to its international credibility.

Iraqi anger at the U.S. invasion will grow if the country faces chaos, depression and starvation. In February, President Bush acknowledged that rebuilding Iraq would required a “sustained commitment from many nations, including our own.” Actions must match those words and must do so more quickly.