Column for week of June 23, 2014
Last week I promised a follow up column on federalism.
So much for the best laid plans of mice and men. Iraq is the hot
topic of the day. Some people are surprised by the outbreak of
more war in Iraq. They shouldn't be.
Prior to World War I the Ottoman Empire ruled most of
the Middle East. World War I finished the Ottoman Empire.
Outsiders carved up the Middle East. The British got a big
hunk, including what is now called Iraq.
The British created Iraq as a convenient administrative
district. That district included tribes that didn't get along well
with each other. Britain chose minority Sunni Muslims to rule
Iraq under the thumb of the British. Choosing a minority to rule
served Britain's purposes. Needing British support, the minority
government wasn't likely to get too frisky.
The Sunnis ruled and abused everyone in Iraq until the
US, with British help, toppled Saddam Hussein. Without the
domination of a ruthless strong man, the factions in Iraq
predictably had at it. The US military kept the civil war in Iraq
down to a low roar. It was fully predictable what would happen
when the US military left. The only question was how soon
would Iraq explode.
In fact the strife in Iraq was fully predictable the minute
the US took down the government of Iraq. The US wasn't going
to stay forever. The various factions in Iraq weren't going to
hate each other any less because of a few years of US
domination. Outsiders would still stand ready to support their
favorites in Iraq.
Civil war was inevitable. It was also unlikely that the
artificial, US sponsored government could survive on its own.
The war mongers blame Obama for the mess in Iraq. He
withdrew the US military. Never mind that he merely executed
the withdrawal mapped out by the Bush administration. Besides,
staying in Iraq forever was never a viable option. You may
recall that most people in the US were fed up with the Iraq war,
The war mongers demand the return of the US military to
Iraq. We have been there twice. The British were in Iraq for a
quarter century. None of this has made the factions in Iraq love,
respect or even tolerate each other. Who is so stoned as to
believe another round of butt kicking by the US will somehow
magically stabilize Iraq?
The US wasted many lives and much wealth on its
doomed and pointless venture in Iraq. Wasting more lives and
more wealth won't recover our losses. It will only add to them.
Certain factions in the US brand the insurgents in Iraq as
terrorists. This is little more than a cheap attempt to stir
passions for a US return to Iraq. All wars are terrifying. Does
this make anyone who goes to war a terrorist?
During the invasion of Iraq the US military unleashed a
bomb and missile attack on Iraq to terrorize Iraq into a quick
surrender. Did this make the US military terrorists?
Terrorists don't have the power to win a war. They hope
to gain advantage by instilling fear. The military success of the
insurgents puts the lie to the claim they are mere terrorists. The
real concern of some is that the insurgents will use military force
to take down the Iraq government. And, they might.
Given the history of enmity and strife in the Middle East,
it is unlikely a new government in Iraq will be significantly
worse or better than the other Middle East governments. As for
oil, whoever controls the oil will be eager, even desperate, to sell
it. The US could develop its own oil if a certain president didn't
stand in the way.
Nothing justifies the US jumping back into a Middle East
civil war. There are few benefits from jumping into any civil
war. This is especially true when the civil war involves
religious factions.
aldmccallum@gmail.com
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Copyright 2014
Albert D. McCallum
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