In a nutshell, this is the true objective of the invasion and occupation of Iraq:
The US government wanted to establish a foothold in the Middle East, to install a friendly puppet government that would provide a cheap supply of oil (how’s that working out at the pump?) and an imperial base of operations in the region. This is a mercantilist policy, a plan to gain control over natural resources in foreign lands.
In the process, the empire has decimated the Iraqi infrastructure, killed hundreds of thousands of its people – a million by some accounts – and is now dividing the remaining people into factions that it can better control.
But what about what will happen if we leave? Won’t there be chaos and disorder?
Yes.
There is chaos and disorder now. The country is in disarray, whatever order is apparent is the disorder of military occupation and martial law.
Our troops are occupiers, charged with quashing rebellion against the empire. This is a losing proposition, and only assures that the morale of our troops will continue to degrade as the occupation continues. US troops will dehumanize the Iraqi subjects on an increasing scale. Drug use will escalate, crimes against the Iraqi people will grow in frequency and severity. The Iraqi people will continue to grow in resistance as more and more people become desperate to expel their foreign occupiers.
We hear talk of the US “winning the war.” What does this mean? For all intents and purposes, the US military “won the war” on April 15, 2003 when the invasion was complete, Baghdad and Tikrit were taken, and Sadaam Hussein went into hiding. The Iraqi Army was vanquished, and Hussein was no longer in power.
This is not a war, this is a five-year occupation, and the US military will never “win” an occupation. Organized military is never a match for guerrilla fighters intent on taking back their land.
Iraq was a nation formed at the convenience of Western powers, and was only held together by a military dictatorship. The collapse of the Hussein regime has presented an opportunity for the various factions to seek their own ends. The only solution is for the US to get out of the region and to allow the people to settle the issue themselves. It appears as though they would divide the country into several sovereign states, if left to their own devices. If this allows them to eventually find peace, so be it. Any disorder that results in the transitional period is their own, and they won’t have the US in their way.
The war was unlawful and unnecessary, but it was won. The occupation is unlawful, makes us less safe, and will ultimately fail at the expense of hundreds of thousands of lives and the US economy. Empires don’t fail because they are defeated militarily, they fail because they over extend themselves and destroy their wealth.