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Post-Bush Iraq Remains Military Stage for Others (Epoca, Brazil)

 

"There are still no concrete signs of any lasting gains from the overthrow of Saddam. After a new wave of fighting, massacres and war crimes of every description, Obama and the entire Middle East face the prospect that Iraq will fragment. Incapable of walking on its own two feet, Iraq seems chained by internal divisions and an unending cycle of interventions. … A victim of intervention, Iraq remains a testing ground for foreign ideological practices, whether American democracy or Saudi fundamentalism."

 

By Rogério Simões and Fillipe Mauro

 

Translated By Brandi Miller

 

August 23, 2014

 

Brazil - Epoca - Original Article (Portuguese)

The progress of an international jihadi movement shows that 11 years after the U.S. invasion, Iraq continues to be a target of foreign interests

 

"The future of Iraq is now in the hands of its people." Stated in December 2011, these words from U.S. President Barack Obama sounded triumphant. Obama closed out America's military presence in Iraq more than eight years after the invasion that toppled the dictator Saddam Hussein. A critic of the war of his predecessor George W. Bush, Obama hoped to stay far away from Iraq. His gamble carried the faint hope that, even if by a crooked path, the theories of the Bush Administration neoconservatives were correct. Obama was an optimist.

 

The ideologues of the Bush government said that democracy could be imposed from without. Exporting it was based on a principle [liberal interventionism] immortalized by President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) - as an obligation of a liberal and democratic superpower. In the hope that Iraq would finally stabilize, Obama trusted that something good could still result from the 2003 Iraq invasion. Given recent events, with Iraq being overrun by the fundamentalist Sunni militia ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), such confidence has rapidly diminished. There are still no concrete signs of any lasting gains from the overthrow of Saddam. After a new wave of fighting, massacres and war crimes of every description, Obama and the entire Middle East face the prospect that Iraq will fragment. Incapable of walking on its own two feet, Iraq seems chained by internal divisions and an unending cycle of interventions. A few weeks ago, the now-former prime minister, the Shiite Nouri al-Maliki, asked Washington to strike ISIL from the air. The Americans are again on their way to Baghdad.

 

 

Despite the suggestion in Obama's 2011 speech, - the Iraqi "people" are not as one. Under the firm hand of Saddam, the Shiite majority, repressed by the regime, lived in relative harmony with Sunnis, while the Kurds already enjoyed significant autonomy in the north. Saddam oversaw a kind of monopoly of atrocities in Iraq. Without him, starting in 2003, everything changed. The market for murder expanded - on an infinitely larger scale. The government, Sunni militias, Shiite paramilitaries and Kurdish forces, all tried to secure their own areas. Shiites and Sunnis began an exchange of endless atrocities. The only regulatory agencies with some power of persuasion, military of course, were the American forces. They did as much good as evil. They supported the new, recently-trained local Army and combated insurgents. The occupation also served as a factor of instability, fueling movements demanding sovereignty. Without it, though, the new Shiite regime was unable to pacify domestic relations. It was accused of marginalizing Sunnis and serving the interests of Iran. Iraq's future is far from being in the "hands of its people," as Obama had dreamed.

 

The events in Iraq over the last 11 years have shaken the belief in liberal interventionism advocated by the Wilsonians. In the Bush government, these principles were based on a military doctrine, popularly known as the Bush Doctrine, transformed into an official document in 2012 and abandoned by the Obama Administration. According to it, in the face of new threats around the world, the United States should act preventively, even before such threats materialize. This notion has been shaken by the failures in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2012, Obama backed away from a possible intervention against dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria. He became convinced by arguments from Russian Vladimir Putin, according to whom any external action would strengthen the same radicals who terrorize Iraq today.

 

ISIL was born out of the division of al-Qaeda in Iraq in April 2013, and as a direct result of the civil war in Syria, where foreign jihadists organized themselves to oppose Assad and out of which ISIL obtained the funds to finance their struggle. The group advocates the creation of an Islamic Sunni state in a region that encompasses mainly northern Iraq and eastern Syria. At first they were a disorganized group. They grew in size and strength in December, when they occupied the Sunni city of Ramadi. The center of Iraq, represented by Anbar Province and a good portion of the north, has lived under ISIL command for months. There is no official data on its actual size, but the Iraq Interior Ministry estimates that its members number in the thousands. In January, military leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the independence of these regions under their control. Since the organization marched toward Baghdad a month ago, panic has taken hold. Three important cities, Fallujah, Mosul and Tikrit, were taken by militiamen in a few days. Tal Afar also succumbed. Cornered, the Iraqi Army abandoned Kirkut, a major oil producer, which was then taken by the Kurds. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis fled their homes and cities. Reports of the cold-blooded assassinations of ISIL opponents have spread worldwide.

Posted By Worldmeets.US

 

It is hard to deny that ISIL is just the latest incarnation of the effects of the disastrous occupation 11 years ago. Not only for what it provoked, but for having opened the doors to other interventions. Iraq, like Syria, became a field of action for foreign jihadi fighters - Saudis, Libyans, Tunisians, but also Europeans. Peter Neumann, a researcher at King’s College in London, confirmed to the BBC that 80 percent of the thousands of foreigners who went to Syria to fight in the civil war had joined ISIL. A victim of intervention, Iraq remains a testing ground for foreign ideological practices, whether American democracy or Saudi fundamentalism.

 

The Iraqi irony seems to be the incapacity of the country to walk alone, trapped in a vicious cycle of interventions. Paul Bremer, an American diplomat during the invasion years, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that Obama was wrong to withdraw the United States from Iraq.

 

So is the solution for the country, already taken over by jihadists of various nations, be an even bigger international intervention? Washington is considering its options, having already returned via air. Iran is determined to protect Shiite holy sites, and its neighboring government. Saudi Arabia, accused by Iran of inciting instability in Syria and Iraq with its export of jihadists, will continue to be active in the region. Far from being a free and democratic nation, Iraq remains a battlefield.

 

 

SEE EVEN MORE ON THIS:
The Independent, U.K.: Fisk on ISIL: Talk of Apocalyptic' Threat is Simply Childish
The Independent, U.K.: West Poised to Join Forces with President Assad
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: The Kurds, ISIL, and Iraq's Icosahedron Triangle
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: Obama Coddles Assad to Please Iran, Endangering Millions
Carta Maior, Brazil: ISIL: The Latest Disastrous Tool of Western Statecraft
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: ISIL Hoists Saudi Royals By Their Own Petards
Le Figaro, France: ISIL Fighters as 'Mad as the Nazis or the Reds'
Amal al-Oumma, Egypt: The U.S.-Zionist 'Hoax' Over East Jerusalem
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: AIPAC: The Lobby One Dare Not Name
Alhayat Aljadeeda, Palestinian Territories: America is Now 'Israel's Hostage'
Alhayat Aljadeeda: Israel Uses 'Diplomatic Terror' Against the U.S.
Dar al-Hayat, Saudi Arabia: Israel 'Drains the Viagra' from America's Credibility
De Morgen, Belgium: Aided by America and Europe, ISIS Poses Mortal Threat to Iran
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: Mysteries of ISIL and the 'American Hand'
Izvestia, Russia: For Russia, Iraq Crisis is a 'Lucky Break'
L'Expressions, Algeria: Modern Terrorism: An American 'Success' Story
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: An Existential Threat to Iraq - but not Only to Iraq
Sotal Iraq: ISIS: 'American-Zionist Tool' for Dismembering Iraq
News, Switzerland: As Iraq Reerupts, 'Media Mad Cow Disease' Takes Hold in U.S.
Thawra Al-Wada, Syria: 'New Middle East' Borders to Be Drawn in Arab Blood
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: America's Secret War Against Iran in Balochistan
Al Ayyam, Palestinian Territories: Feuding Arabs Help America 'Remap' the Middle East
Al Ghad, Jordan: U.S.-Zionist Plan for 'Blood Borders' Proceeds Apace
Sotal Iraq, Iraq: REPORT: ISIS Revives Saddam's Baath Party to Win Sunni Support
Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia: Jihadi MANPADS: History Teaches 'Precisely Nothing'
Azzaman, Iraq: Barack Obama: 'Milking' the Iraq War for All it's Worth
Kitabat, Iraq: For Iraqi People, U.S. Withdrawal is 'Two Victories in One'
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Al-Arab Al-Yawm, Jordan: 'Smell of Gunpowder' Has Arabs on Edge
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraq Caught in Middle as U.S. Asserts Iranian Murder Plot
Debka File, Israel: Loss of U.S. Drone Strengthens Case for Israeli Attack
Iraq News Agency, Iraq: Al-Sadr and Al-Maliki: More Shiite or Iraqi?
Kayhan, Iran: Sadrists to Take Up Arms If U.S. Remains in Iraq
Financial Times, U.K.: Maliki Gives Iran and U.S Joint Cause
Kitabat, Iraq: Letting Iraq Collapse Will Spell Disaster for U.S.
Kitabat, Iraq: 'Render Unto Caesar What is Caesar's'
Azzaman, Iraq: Iraqi Democracy Has Been 'Assassinated'
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraqis Need Patriotism, Not Americans Troops!
La Stampa, Italy: The War in Iraq: America's 'Seven Inglorious Years'
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraqis Must 'Take to Streets' to Demand a Presidential System
El Pais, Spain: U.S. Ends War it Couldn't Win; Leaves Behind Ruined Nation
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraq is Our Country!!!
The Telegraph, U.K.: Top Army Officer Warns Iraq Not Ready Until 2020
The Independent, U.K.: U.S. Troops Say Goodbye to Iraq
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Iraq is 'Half Built with the Roof Off'
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Fears Rise as U.S.-Backed Fighters Defect to al-Qaeda
Debka File, Iraq: U.S. Ends Iraq War, Leaves Two Civil Wars 'On the Boil'
Debka File, Israel: Combat Between U.S. and Iran Looms in Iraq
Kitabat, Iraq: America's 'Promise': To Leave Iraq in a State of Civil War
Kitabat, Iraq: Wake Up Iraqis!: The Americans Never Intend to Withdraw!
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Iraq News Agency, Iraq: Details on Scientist's Death Expose 'Zionist Jail' in Iraq
Iraq News Agency: Chalabi Tells General Odierno: 'Mind Your Business'
Iraq News Agency: U.S. 'Pullout' Resembles Israeli Retreats from Gaza
Al Iraq News, Iraq: Iraq's American Embassy is 'Suspicious' and 'Dangerous'!
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: Blackwater 'No Better Than al-Qaeda'  
La Stampa, Italy: War in Iraq: America's 'Seven Inglorious Years'
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Kayhan, Iran: A 'Small Number' of Iranian Flock 'Led Astray'
Kayhan, Iran: America and Britain are Behind Iran's So-Called Unrest
Kayhan, Iran: Obama is a 'Global Menace;' and 'Threat to Islam'
Kayhan, Iran: Nuclear Power and Israel's Inexplicable Abuse of Iran
Kayhan, Iran:
Brazil Welcomes Ahmadinejad; Keeps Distance from 'English World'
Estadao, Brazil: Brazil's Foolhardy Treatment of America and Embrace of Iran
Kayhan, Iran: America and Britain are Behind Iran's So-Called Unrest
Die Welt, Germany: Ahmadinejad Announces Iranian Plans to 'Administer the World'
Estadao, Brazil:
Brazil's Foolhardy Treatment of America and Embrace of Iran
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: Arab World 'Impotent' but to Witness Iran's Ascent
Dar Al-Hayat, Egypt: The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - and its Evil Sisters
Al-Iraq News, Iraq: America's Disgraced Hawks Turn to Middle East Plan B
Kitabat, Iraq: The ISIS - An 'American-Zionist-Iranian Device'
Al-Iraq News, Iraq: Great Satan and the Zionist Entity: 'Arabs Swallow the Iranian Bait'
Thawra Al-Wada, Syria: America's 'Arab-Zionist' Pawns
Debka File, Israel: Assad Pulls Ahead in Syria; Putin, Khamenei are 'Joint-Victors'
Debka File, Israel: Obama, Netanyahu Help Khamenei Pick Iran's Next President
Sotal Iraq, Iraq: Iran, Iraq and Our ‘Common Enemy’
Iraqi News Agency, Iraq: Is U.S. Conspiring with Iran, or are they Simply Fools?
Iraqi News Agency, Iraq: Al-Sadr and al-Maliki: More Shiite or Iraqi?
Financial Times, U.K.: Maliki Gives Iran and U.S Joint Cause
Kitabat, Iraq: Letting Iraq Collapse Will Spell Disaster for U.S.
Kitabat, Iraq: 'Render Unto Caesar What is Caesar's'
Azzaman, Iraq: Iraqi Democracy Has Been 'Assassinated'
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraqis Need Patriotism, Not Americans Troops!
La Stampa, Italy: The War in Iraq: America's 'Seven Inglorious Years'
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraqis Must 'Take to Streets' to Demand a Presidential System
El Pais, Spain: U.S. Ends War it Couldn't Win; Leaves Behind Ruined Nation
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraq is Our Country!!!
The Telegraph, U.K.: Top Army Officer Warns Iraq Not Ready Until 2020
The Independent, U.K.: U.S. Troops Say Goodbye to Iraq
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Iraq is 'Half Built with the Roof Off'
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Fears Rise as U.S.-Backed Fighters Defect to al-Qaeda
Debka File, Iraq: U.S. Ends Iraq War, Leaves Two Civil Wars 'On the Boil'
Debka File, Israel: Combat Between U.S. and Iran Looms in Iraq
Kitabat, Iraq: America's 'Promise': To Leave Iraq in a State of Civil War
Kitabat, Iraq: Wake Up Iraqis!: The Americans Never Intend to Withdraw!
Kitabat, Iraq: America's War: From One Dictatorship to Another  

 

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Posted By Worldmeets.US August 23, 2014, 7:39pm