Yes, Iraqis Remember 9/11

Iraqis mourned with Americans on September 11, 2001. It wasn't long, however, before their tyrannical ruler was targeted as a possessor of weapons of mass destruction along with the intent to use them on America. When it was later proven beyond doubt that Saddam Hussein never had either such payload or such intent, it was too late for the Iraqi people. During our mid-stream mission change of bringing them "democracy", we have brought far more death, dismemberment, and destruction than liberty. Yes, Iraqis remember 9/11. It is still tearing their country apart.


When I got to Kuwait in June of 2005, I was surprised that all of the Iraqi and Kuwaiti workers on my transition base couldn't understand very much of my limited Arabic speaking ability. It turns out they were Indians, Pakistanis, Philippinos, etc.

When I got to my combat base in Iraq, the only three Iraqis workers I ever met there were translators who went with the brigade and battalion commanders, or with combat patrols as necessary. The rest of the workers were Indians, Pakistanis, Phillipinos, etc.

It was not until 2 weeks ago, after having been home from Iraq for more than three years, that I discovered that this wasn't just the norm on military bases in Iraq. Not only did we occupy their country on false pretenses, disband their military, and fire all of their government employees, we also (except in rare circumstances) didn't provide reconstruction jobs to any of the Iraqi people whose country we were occupying.

No wonder they hate us.

In her book, "The Shock Doctrine", Naomi Klein details what additional shock and awe U.S. uber-fuhrer Paul Bremer dispensed once the aerial bombardment was complete.

Before the invasion, Iraq's economy had been anchored by its national oil company and by two hundred state owned companies. The month after he arrived in his new job, Bremer announced that the two hundred firms would be privatized immediately. Bremer enacted a radical set of laws [one of which] allowed foreign companies to own 100 percent of Iraqi assets...

The Shock Doctrine, p. 436

Iraqi advisers warned in advance that these actions would be seen as acts of war. You probably already know at least that much of the history that happened next.

But it gets worse.

Of the billions of dollars sent by the Bush Administration designated as reconstruction money--at least not the significant portion that was stolen outright by American contractors--almost none of it went toward contracts with Iraqi construction companies or to pay Iraqi workers, due to the fact that very few were allowed to participate. Klein says:

Even Iraqis' low-wage labor wasn't required for the assembly process because the major U.S. contractors...preferred to import foreign workers whom they felt confident they could control. Once again Iraqis were cast in the role of awed spectators...

Iraq once had one of the most sophisticated industrial economies in the region; now its largest firms couldn't even get a subsubsubcontract in their own country's reconstruction.

...cement factories were perfectly positioned both to supply the reconstruction effort with building materials and to put tens of thousands of Iraqis to work. The factories received nothing--no contracts, no generators, no help. American companies preferred to import their cement, like their workforce, from abroad, at up to ten times the price.

The Shock Doctrine, pp. 439, 441-442

Despite the ignominy of American occupation, sectarian violence and violence against the military was almost unknown for at least the first year that we were there. Did you ever wonder where all of the insurgents came from? Well, now you know. Klein says:

In fact, all the forces tearing Iraq apart today--rampant corruption, ferocious sectarianism, the surge in religious fundamentalism, and the tyranny of death squads--escalated in lockstep with the implementation of Bush's anti-Marshall plan. After the toppling of Saddam Hussein, Iraq badly needed and deserved to be repaired and reunited, a process that could only have been led by Iraqis. Instead, at that moment, the country was transformed into a cutthroat capitalist laboratory--a system that pitted individuals and communities against each other... It was a very capitalist disaster, a nightmare of unfettered greed unleashed in the wake of war.

The Shock Doctrine, 443-444

Why can't we just leave these people alone? Are they better off now than they were under Saddam? A friend of mine asked me today if we were going to leave Iraq in a bigger mess than we found it. Yes, it seems like we will.

How much longer are Americans going to believe the Bush Administration lie that our overarching goal was to bring democracy to the Iraqi people?

The Iraqis wish that 9/11 had never happened--but for very different reasons than most Americans do.

The American Hegemon is Here to Help You!

Given any one of a number of duplicitous actions by the United States government over the last few decades, it does not surprise me at all that the Iraqis would have a tendency not to trust the United States. Were our historical actions taken into account by the Bush II Administration when we went into Iraq in 2003? I'm not sure which of "Yes" or "No" is the worse answer.


Disclaimer: In areas with which I am not overly familiar, I am greatly influenced by the perspectives of those whose books I am reading. This post fits that category. I need to do more research, but at this point I am afraid that I will not like what I find in the footnotes of two copiously footnoted books:

• Web of Deceit by Barry M. Lando
• Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky
  

In the guise of spreading liberty across the globe, it appears what the United States has done in the last 50 years is sown discord and hatred while protecting what it terms its international (read elite and corporate) interests. If this is true, America has much to be embarrassed about and much to apologize for. I'm not sure if the juggernaut is too fully formed that a clean electoral sweep of the House, the Congress, and the White House would solve the problem, but that's beginning to look more and more like the only viable solution.

The problems of US duplicity in Iraq pervade every US administration since at least John F. Kennedy, if you believe Barry Lando and Noam Chomsky. Their research is detailed. They draw attention to the schemes of power players in every administration, whether Republican or Democrat. I, therefore, have a tendency to believe that the information they are providing is true.

I recently posted about US involvement in the Middle East (and particularly Iraq) as told by Barry Lando in his recent book "Web of Deceit". I'm nearly half finished with the book, and will have more to say on it here later. For now, I will say I am thoroughly disgusted with my government's attempts to mind the business of nearly every country but its own. Its short-sighted siding with Iraq-then Iran-then Iraq (and sometimes both at the same time) during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980's is but one example of how I am embarrassed for my country in that we as a populace cannot see beyond the sound bites to elect leaders who truly care about liberty rather than foisting the worst facets of American capitalism and imperialism on the world.

It is no surprise to me, then, as Noam Chomsky says in his book Hegemony or Survival that most countries see the United States as the most dangerous country in the world. It is not possible to understand this concept until we understand the history of American involvement in the Middle East.

At least one microcosm of today's Iraq is told on page 5 of today's Parade Magazine:

"Before the United States came here, no one cared who was Sunni or Shia," Muhammad [not his real name] says... "Everyone was Iraqi."

"There would be no insurgency if you [the United States] were not here."

Muhammad was in his second year at the Iraqi Military Academy when L. Paul Bremer disbanded the Iraqi army. It is suspected that between recently, when Muhammad joined the Iraqi army, and then Muhammad was an insurgent. He might still be.

Like Lando, Noam Chomsky gives some insight into why Iraqis like Muhammad feel like they do, and why they probably do for good reason. The first time I heard of Chomsky, through the filter of the establishment media, my impression was that he was a kook. After having read one of his books, however, I no longer think so.

Chomsky, whose book was written in 2003, has this to say:

..a US attack could "globalize anti-American and anti-Western sentiment...attacking Iraq would intensify Islamic terrorism, not reduce it."

An understanding of their mistrust of America makes that an un-surprising prognostication.

With the Iraqi people at the edge of survival after a decade of destructive sanctions, international aid and medical agencies warned that a war might lead to a serious humanitarian catastrophe. Switzerland hosted a meeting of thirty countries to prepare what might lie ahead. The US alone refused to attend.

Perhaps Chomsky's most interesting observation in this context was not even stated about Iraq:

It has been regularly observed that the extension of formal democracy in Latin America has been accompanied by increasing disillusionment about democracy.

I am sad to say that, considering the ineptitude (purposefulness?) of the Bush Administration, Iraqis have every reason to feel the same way about democracy.

Iraq's Economy Makes a Comeback

I'm not sure whether this will come as bad news to people who are against the war in Iraq--I hope not. But to me, it is excellent news. Iraq's economy is surprisingly strong for the violence and other problems the country is having.

In the December 18, 2006 International Edition of Newsweek magazine, we learn that "Iraq's Economy is Booming!".

Cell phones, a few years ago non-existent in Iraq, now number 7.1 million. Despite the destruction of the insurgency, oil revenues are higher than at any time in Iraq's history. More than four times as many private companies exist than during the last days of Saddam.

Sang's Blog lists several of the improvements aided by the US military.

Amir Taheri reports from Um Qasr that in that once almost ghost town, and in 80% of Iraq the economy is improving in leaps and bounds.

judging by the talk in teahouses and the debate in Iraq's new and pluralist media, most people welcome the switch to capitalism and regard it as an exciting adventure.