Who or What is to blame for Iraq?

[Truth Seeker]

Who or What is to blame for Iraq?

 

"My son was just a bit of meat to them, just a number. They don't care about him; all they're worried about is the next election. This is not our war, my son has died in their war over oil and they haven't even taken up the trouble of picking up the phone and say they're sorry for our loss."

 

This was the view of another mother who lost her child in the continuing occupation of Iraq and she clearly wanted to highlight the nepotism of the Government in firstly going to war on the true premise of securing its own economic interests. Then for highlighting the significance of her loss to a government who sees such losses as irrelevant as long as it is able to secure its economic interests.

 

This is by no means an isolated incident as it is just another example of how capitalist nations view their citizens as economic commodities where the greater the value a person can generate the more important his needs are to the government. Translated this to the population means that the majority of the populations are ignored because they contribute little to the economic prosperity of the country compared to the big multi national companies.

 

This clearly illustrates the capitalist framework where the corporate entities are given unprecedented support and priority over the majority of the people because the government’s wishes to maintain the profitability of the corporations that naturally support it with donations to keep it in office.

 

Corporate Government

 

The interest of Corporations are supported by the western governments and this close relationship is not surprising considering many officials are closely aligned to the multi billion pound corporations:

 

The post Iraq war reconstruction contracts show the startling reality of corporate America and its intricate links with the Bush Government. Bechtel Group Inc and Halliburton Co were major contributors to the Bush election campaign, which in total raised nearly $200 million for the whole election campaign. These donations were duly rewarded with the biggest reconstruction contracts going to these corporations. The capital construction contract alone gives Bechtel funding of up to $680 million over 18 months subject to Congress’ approval.

 

To further highlight the involvement of government we can see that the Bechtel Group has made a number of friends in Washington over the years. Former Secretary of State George Shultz, once Bechtel’s president, now serves on the company’s board of directors. USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios, who oversees the bidding process for post-war contracts, once headed the Boston-area “Big Dig†construction project, for which Bechtel was the primary contractor.

 

Halliburton Co of which Kellogg, Brown & Root are a subsidiary received the main contract to fight oil well fires and reconstruct oil fields in Iraq. The open-ended contract, which has no specified time or dollar limit, was given to the company without a bidding process. Adding weight to the view of Charles Bremer of the American Textile Manufacturing Institute whom highlighted the power of corporate America when he stated that “you don’t tell Wall-Mart your price. Wall-Mart tells you†clearly Halliburton have built on this philosophy and taken it to a new extreme.

 

Halliburton also has a number of ties to Washington with current Vice President, Dick Cheney, heading the company for five years before becoming George W. Bush's running mate in 2000. Lawrence Eagleburger, former US secretary of state under President George H. W. Bush, sits on the company's board. Not to be outdone the President and Security advisor Condoleza Rice also have deep corporate links.

 

Britain is also not immune to the Corporate interest the Hinduja brother affair in Britain highlighted once again the influence businessman are able to buy from governments. The Hinduja brothers were able to get the Former Northern Ireland minister to allegedly personally involve himself in getting the brothers passports. This was on the back drop of the wealthy brothers donating to the Millennium Dome project of which Peter Mandelson was once responsible for.

 

Bernie Ecclestone caused the Labour government significant embarrassment when it was revealed he had donated £1 million to it, this was in the context that the government had exempted his Formula 1 motor sport from the tobacco advertising ban. Mr Ecclestone clearly felt that his money would by him a favorable policy from the government, which it had with the sport being exempted from the ban. Looking at the wider context of the whole issue it is clear the government ignored the overwhelming health considerations of millions of its citizens where only recently another study revealed that passive smoking increases the possibility of coronary heart disease by up to 60%. The masses were ignored for the billion pound motor industry and its key manufacturers.

 

The recent acceptance of Colonel Gaddafi and Libya into the international arena despite decades of classing the dictator a supporter of terrorism and his history of oppression were simply ignored so that Shell could sign an oil contract to utilize the natural resources of the country.

 

To further illustrate that the West does not restrict its interests to its own borders is seen by the exportation of western ideals. It is able to strengthen its grip on the resources of other nations through its own subcontractors as in the case of the recently installed Prime Minister of Iraq Iyyad Allawi who is a former CIA spy. Who has made it clear that he will not appose any commands from the West.

 

These are more recent examples but history is clearly littered with corporate interests overtaking humanity such as in 1954 the U.S. sponsored a reactionary revolt which overthrew the progressive government of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala after land owned by the U.S.-owned United Fruit Company was nationalized. A reign of terror was unleashed against revolutionaries, nationalists and progressive activists

 

Ignoring the Electorate and supporting the Corporations

 

The West champions its democratic values yet it is clear that the only democracy it acts on is that which allows the corporations to purchase its policies irrespective of environmental and social considerations these may have.

 

The West champions the accountability of its governance yet it clearly ignores the views of the very people it is supposed to represent. As evidenced by it ignoring the 1 million people that marched against the Iraq war. It ignored the fuel protestors in 2000 and will in September raise the duty on fuel once again despite mass opposition.

 

We see the annual protest from the public sector workers be they be fireman, nurses, teachers and doctors who provide critical services to the population yet have to strike to make the government pay attention to it. Even then it is only able to demand pay increase in line with inflation.

 

This is in stark contrast to its acceptance of corporate interests and lobbies as we can see that it rarely accuses itself or the directors of these corporations of inflation busting salary increases and obscene bonus schemes.

 

“Collateral Damageâ€

 

The western governments are not discreet in the value they place on human life as evidenced by comments from senior figures “There’s enough work for everyone to have a role. But the leading role initially, of cause, has to be the coalition, necessarily,†Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State told reporters recently. The role of the occupying forces was further confirmed by US security adviser Condoleezza Rice who said that it was “natural†for the US-led coalition to have a “leading role†in the reconstruction process, having sacrificed “life and blood†to liberate Iraq. Clearly the loss of life is justified through the economic interests that have been secured.

 

More than 850 US troops have been killed since the start of the war on March 19, 2003, just over 700 of them since US President George W. Bush declared the end of major hostilities on May 1, 2003. Making the post-combat phase of the war by far the bloodiest US engagement since the Indochina conflict.

 

In addition more than 5,134 troops were wounded through June 16, 4,593 of them since the official end of combat. Nearly two- thirds of the wounded, according to the report, received injuries serious enough to prevent them from returning to duty.

 

The toll among Iraqis has been far more dramatic, as of June 16, it is estimated that between 9,436 and 11,317 civilians have been killed as a direct result of the US invasion and ensuing occupation, while an estimated 40,000 Iraqis have been injured. This loss of life however is merely classed as ‘collateral damage’ and is seen as a price worth paying.

 

Moreover, these figures do not take account of the long-run health impacts of the estimated 1,100 to 2,200 tons of ordnance made from depleted uranium (DU), which many scientists blamed for illnesses among US soldiers in the first Gulf War and a seven- fold increase in child birth defects in southern Iraq since 1991.

 

Nor do they account for the psychological impact of both the war and the skyrocketing violence, including murders, rapes, and kidnapping, that followed the invasion and that now keeps many Iraqi children from attending school and requires many women to stay off the streets at night. School attendance is reportedly running below pre-war levels, while Iraq's hospitals and health systems have been overwhelmed by a combination of lack of supplies.

 

 

We can see that the West places little importance on the welfare of the Muslims of Iraq as it has failed to live up to the promises of rebuilding and expanding Iraq's infrastructure, the country is still not producing as much electricity or as much oil on a sustained basis as it was just before the war.

 

This nepotism is blamed on profiteering by big US companies like Halliburton that captured virtually all of the reconstruction contracts despite the much greater experience of Iraqi firms.

 

Truth

 

It is clear that mother of the dead soldier was correct in her estimations of the overriding economic interest that the West places at the forefront of its policies irrespective of the human cost involved. Day by day soldiers and civilians are being killed and are deemed necessary sacrifices for the sake of corporate interests and profit margins.

 

Not content with this utter disregard of human life, the Western governments are again able to price the economic commodity of life. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed that so far $14,000 (£7,600) has been paid in official compensation for incidents including deaths in military custody as well as shootings during demonstrations. It also admits paying "charitable donations" of $24,350 to families up to 13 March this year. The price of life is worth no more than a car.

 

The state department has taken $184m earmarked for critical drinking water projects and moved it to the budget for the lavish new US embassy in Saddam Hussein's former palace. The embassy from which the real sovereignty of Iraq will operate, bringing the cost to just short of $1bn for the embassy, Richard Armitage, the deputy secretary of state, said he might have to "rob from Peter in my fiefdom to pay Paul". The reality is that he is robbing Iraq's people, who, according to a recent study by the consumer group Public Citizen, are facing "massive outbreaks of cholera, diarrhea, nausea and kidney stones" from drinking contaminated water.

 

These examples are not restricted to Iraq as can also be seen in the response of America to the AIDS epidemic which has been likened by the US Surgeon General to the plague, which decimated Europe in the Middle Ages. Last year alone, there were approximately 5 million new cases of AIDS in the world adding to an existing 42 million cases. 3.5 million of these cases arose from Sub-Sahara Africa itself showing the extent to which this part of the world is particularly vulnerable to the life-threatening virus.

 

The vulnerability in this part of the world is largely due to the abstract poverty and the subsequent lack of basic healthcare provision. As a result, there is a lack of access to the Patented Antiretroviral drugs that can be used to slow down the symptoms of AIDS. The essence of the debate rests around the desire of Western pharmaceutical companies to retain their patented drug products whilst millions of people are denied access to these medicines. The American government has been at the forefront of protecting its corporate patents irrespective of the human cost involved.

 

Conclusion

 

“Ideology is ideology, but in the US government, political theory goes hand-in-hand with big business. The world isn’t just watching the spread of a political philosophy in Iraq, it is watching a conquest by and for US big business as well.†- Neil McKay, a columnist in the Sunday Herald

 

The hypocritical stance that the West takes towards Muslim nations shows again how it is able to serve its own interests. For instance, Saudi Arabia is one of the most strategic allies of the US in the region. It has no constitution to speak of, no political parties and is run by a single royal family that brooks no dissent. However since it spends billions of dollars on military purchases and provides military installations to further the dominating reach of the US in the region it is valuable to US interests.

 

There is more evidence further afield from the Middle East in Pakistan where a dictator became a president overnight when he allied himself to the US war against Islam or in the Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan where brutal governments suppress the population using US funds.

 

There are those that may say that it is just these governments that have given to rise to such inhumanity yet upon further investigation it is clear that the problem is the underpinning philosophy that these nations apply and that is of Capitalism. The end results of the application of this philosophy are seen from the words of its founder:

 

Adam Smith, has shaped the western model of economy and politics through his famous 1776 book called 'The wealth of nations'. Smith asserted that individuals pursuing economically "selfish" goals are organized "as if by an invisible hand" into a self-regulating economy that benefits everyone despite this not being the intention of those seeking their self gain. He furthermore attacked those who think of others before themselves as not leading to the greater good, in fact leading to greater bad than good according to this invisible hand theory. He states,

 

"…by pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it."

 

This economic interest is not a temporary measure as highlighted by the fact that $15bn which were initially marked for immediate reconstruction is now being rolled out over five years. Clearly so that new American Ambassador John Negroponte can use it as leverage against any future government. With $15bn to be spent any future government will be powerless to refuse US demands for military bases and economic reforms.

 

The capitalist thought encourages the serving of corporate interests irrespective of the cost to the wider community. It is this very ideal that West is intending to impose on the Muslims of Iraq and naturally this will create many more problems.

 

The capitalist doctrine of Bush and Blair has no regard for human life – be it Muslim or non-Muslim. Life is an expendable commodity if it gets in the way of profits. It is clear the corporations that control government policy underpin the interests of the West, it is these very corporations that have dictated this foreign policy of these nations and its exploitation of other nations. It is these very interests the West is trying to achieve in Iraq despite the ‘collateral damage’ it causes.

 

The solution for Iraq must be the complete withdrawal of occupation forces and allowing the Muslims of Iraq to decide their own political destiny.

[N.O.R.F]

A weak ummah with dreams and desires of wealth and not togetherness. This had been taken advantage of over the years but others and this is where we are today!

 

Would love to ilaborate (spel chek) but no time!

[Truth Seeker]

I disagree

[N.O.R.F]

Come on then, lets hear it!

[Truth Seeker]

The Ummah does not crave wealth it does crave being united though.

 

If it craved wealth it would have exploited the lands it conquerred and ruled.

 

As to unity it is welll known the plots of the colonialists, britain and france that they worked by supporting their agents to divide the Muslims on nationlistic grounds e.g. Kemal AtaTurk, Saud, Qaid e Azam etc...

[N.O.R.F]

The article you posted seems to be concentrating on the west/USA/oil is to blame for whats going on in Iraq. The truth of the matter is far more closer to home and further back along the lines of history. This hasnt happened over night. Now if you take a ride in Bill & Ted's time machine, you will witness that the love of the dollar over the years has slowly eradicated the good hearts of the muslim governments and public. Now this may not be the only reason but it plays a huge role in what has happened over the years.

 

Governments have over time become detached from their reponsibilities as protectors of the people and protectors of Islam. This has lead to a weakness in that many muslims now live an 'unislamic' way of life and feel as though its 'ok' to do so, as alot of other ppl are. Just watching the Arabic satelite channels make me think of how much the middle east has changed in my short time away. I even hate saying this but divison amongst us is even evident in our masjids up and down the country. Having seen this, do we really have hope? Are you surprised at how weak the Ummah is? We diagree on many things and waste our time trying to either justify or hate on the other side instaed of trying to work together in the hope achieving our goals one way or the other.

 

The muslim media is busy focusing and blaming the west for everything. The ppl have jumped onto this and believe it all. Call it propaganda but this has shown our ignorance to the bigger picture. Our demise over the years has been forgotten while we were drinking latte and listening to Tupac!

[Truth Seeker]

I agree with much of your analysis but the reason that we are in this mess is due to a number of reasons and western colonilastion is one of the main ones. Much of the problems we have today stem from what the west did and DOES in our lands.

 

The divison is down to them supporting entities in our lands to cause division based on nationlism, the west supoorted those that called aggainst rebellion e.g. the likes of Saud.

 

The ummah neglected her duty in accounting its rulers but it was not due to love of this life.