Me again with a little time for some Editorial rumination. My focus today is Iraq. If one had relied solely on the Western media for news about Iraq in recent years then you would have been poorly informed. A script of Occupation, Withdrawal, Political intransigence, and Religious Extremism (not necessarily in that order) would have been the dominant Iraq message for many consumers of what passes as the news on this topic. While these facets of the Iraq story did happen, particularly since 2003, they do not provide an answer to the critical question: Why? The short answer is resistance. The USA and friends stormed into Iraq in 2003 after besieging it in a medieval fashion for over a decade. The USA then proceeded to sell off Iraqs assets as if it was a giant open air flea market. Naturally, the Iraqi people resisted. Except that is, the Iraqi Kurds, who since the early 1990s had been a tacit ally of the USA. In contrast to the rest of Iraq, the Northern Kurdish populated part was unscathed by the 2003 brutal USA military assault. As for the rest of Iraq, well that was fair game for all manner of USA conceived depravities. Here is the go away message though: the Iraqis, both Sunni and Shia Muslim, resisted. They fought back. The Shia Iraqis were supported covertly by nearby Iran. The Sunni Iraqis on the other hand were faced with a tough question: Should they continue their adherence to a secular minded form of Islam ----aka Saddams middle ground----or should they adopt the radical Islam of Saudi Arabias Wahabism? The occupying USA forces pretty much wiped out the Saddam option and actually openly encouraged the Wahabist movement to thrive inside Iraq. Prior to 2003, there were ZERO Sunni Jihadists inside Iraq. After 2003, they came in their thousands. This was highlighted in the twin battles of 2004 and 2005 for the Iraqi city of Fallujah. This city is considered Iraqs second city after Baghdad. It has a long history of political and religious significance. More to the point, it is located in a predominantly Sunni part of Iraq. For two years, it offered fierce resistance to the USA Occupation forces. Indeed, it became a symbol of that resistance. Incidentally, it was also flooded by Jihadists. Curiously, even though the USA military pretty much flattened Fallujah during the 2004/2005 battles, the spirit of resistance to the occupation never evaporated. Just as soon as the USA armed forces moved out of Fallujah to fight elsewhere, the resistance cells returned. Moreover, it was in Fallujah that the Iraqi Jihadist resistance was concentrated from 2005 onwards. Pretty much then, since that time, the so called ISIS/ISIL/IS movement have been in control of that city. When the truth is told, the ISIS/IS/ISIL movement is composed of members who were formerly known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq. A Western creation then in more ways than one. Yet one our Governments claim we are now supposedly fighting.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 19:00:30 +0000
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