On April 9, 2003, U.S. led coalition forces effectively seized control of Baghdad, marking the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime three weeks into the Iraq War. Although fighting continued all over the country, it was a symbolic moment used by media world wide to soften opposition to the illegal invasion and declare victory as soon as they could. It was very obvious to everyone that the so called civilians surrounding the statue and trying to topple it were paid and came along with the American tanks, but since media was controlled by them in full, no one questioned the facts.
Even then, those so called civilians couldn’t topple the statue and had to wait for assistance from an American tank, which was very humiliating to watch, yet very true of the nature of those people. They couldn’t do anything without their masters. Powerless, worthless and simply the worst of society, traitors. If they were truly patriotic and loved their country, they would have done something themselves if they wanted true change, without the need of a country thousands of miles away to come and assist them. Nothing comes for free, they sold their souls, their country and its citizens to a dark future.
Everyone was glued to the TV watching the events in Iraq, shocked thinking what the future would hold for this country and its people. No one trusted the incoming invaders, hence the term “Mongols of the era” which is still used to describe what happened to Baghdad. It was a moment of sadness and shock for the Arab populations, as the country they deemed the most powerful in the region fell. The only people celebrating this event were the so called opposition that were mainly abroad which celebrated while bombs of several tons were dropping shredding their fellow citizens to pieces.
I remember because I knew some of them, and they actually had parties when the war started. If this isn’t treason, I really don’t know what it. This was the moment I questioned some of these friendships, and as years passed, some not all, came to the conclusion that I was right, me and every other Iraqi that was against this war.
This is not a defence of Saddam Hussein.
He like any other leader in the history of the region, Iraq and the world, had his positives and negatives. Yes, many could argue that some of his decisions were disastrous, and yes, they probably were. But the way I look at it, nothing justifies supporting a foreign country to come over, invade, steal, kill, rape, torture, murder, and completely destroy your own home in order to topple one person or government. There’s a word for that, treason. At least we had a country and not the failed state that Iraq has become.
You could argue against many “facts” which have been fed to the masses. The Iran-Iraq War, some feel that it wasn’t necessary, while studying the facts thoroughly and the Khomeini movement in Iran very clearly show that Iraq had no other choice but to defend itself from the expansion of the sectarian ideology that would have only brought bloodshed and corruption to Iraq far earlier than its’ spread post-2003. If Iraq hadn’t defended itself, this ideology would have swept through Iraq and many other Arab countries causing millions of deaths, just as it has after the American invasion of 2003.
The decision in regards to Kuwait was a mistake in my opinion, however it wasn’t without reason. Kuwait has always been a long standing issue to Iraq. It belonged to the Basra Vilayet during the Ottoman era, having been previously carved out by the British then. Slowly expanding to the north taking more and more land from the Basra Province throughout the years, illegally, supported by the British. The late King Ghazi had plans to take back that land, Abdul Kareem Qassim also had plans, then came Saddam and the Baath Party only to finally make the decision to take it back.
Although I do not think that was the correct way to resolve the ongoing issues. Other hostilities pushed the Iraqi government then to take that decision; the oil price manipulation causing severe losses to Iraq during the Iran war, theft of oil from oilfields south of Basra, and others. There was still another way to deal with the issue of Kuwait from my point of view. One solution would be as easy as cutting off the border. Kuwait was heavily dependant on exporting to Iraq. This would have caused massive damage to the markets and forced the Kuwait government to change course. But its very obvious they wanted to keep on with their policies to force a reaction from Saddam Hussein.
So what did this invasion bring to the Iraqi people? Sectarian division, deaths, corruption, assassinations, rape, torture, and complete destruction of society. A completely failed state in every sector you can think of. In finance, education, health, energy, agriculture, and more, they have transformed the country into a completely failed state, entirely dependent and serving the interests of neighbouring countries. A group of criminals stealing as much money as they can during every change of parliament, serving only their own personal interest knowing very well this state of affairs cannot last forever. They have transformed Iraq into a consumer market for its’ neighbours. Law and order, in the loose sense it exists is pretty much dictated by militias, tribal connections, and corruption.
Along with the invasion came a large number of bloodthirsty criminals which spread chaos across the country, all in the name of the De-Baathification of Iraq, supported by law, which this illegal new governing body has introduced.
The invasion was illegal, meaning anything that came after was too.
At least thats the way I see it.
They weren’t put in place because they wanted to rebuild, they were put in place with the sole purpose of dividing the country and to steal its wealth. It’s as simple as that. They planned for the complete destruction of the country and its people.
The decision to disband the Iraqi Army was catastrophic, they were the only hope to keep the country intact. These decisions were not a mistake as many try to propagate. They are deliberate. Just as the sanctions on Iraq for ten years were deliberate to force the Iraqi people to accept anything that came after that. This was a long process for successive US administrations. It was a series of calculated and deliberate actions in order to destroy the very soul of a country, its society for generations and any possible future prospects. I still remember the interview with Madeleine Albright on 60 minutes when she said that the death of half a million children because of the US led sanctions on Iraq was worth it.
We will never forget the years of sanctions.
We will never forget watching as bombs dropped shredding people into pieces.
We will never forget the hand over of our country to an enemy we had previously fought for eight years.
We will never forget the fact that every Arab government chose either; to support the occupiers or stood in silence watching the disaster unfold, and that in both scenarios our supposed brotherly nations made a fortune off of our destruction.
We will never forget what happened to our brothers and sister in Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and every other country that has suffered because of western foreign policy, the occupation and traitors to our own people.
Despite it all, I remain hopeful we will see change. I am hopeful even after experiencing all of this chaos, sectarianism, corruption, militias running wild, and all the attempts to destroy its society.
I am hopeful because Iraqis have proven to be a resilient people.
The newer generations want a country.
A true sovereign country and not a puppet state.