Iraq at the crossroads
L-R: Possible sources of danger. US bases around Iraq. Photo: Counterterrorismblog, Gcc
This year is going to end with some remarkable changes across the Middle East and Africa. The 'Arab Spring' has been blowing throughout the year. Now, the US is withdrawing its army from Iraq. This decision has attracted mixed reactions from experts. Some praised the decision while others reproached. In the declaration ceremony Obama said that Iraq had become democratic and had an independent judicial system. This statement has surprised many Iraqis including me as a Bangladeshi. I wish the Iraqis had all these! Scholars have produced innumerable articles regarding the US withdrawal from Iraq. Here I shall try to touch those untouched areas that are very much important. Occupation of Iraq is a continuation of classical norm of western imperialism. Initially western powers occupy a foreign land physically through waging wars. Then the occupier makes an opportune ambiance for their vernacular companies to do business. And finally, they leave it by substituting with a cow-tow leadership selected from the occupied country. Iraq was no exception. Now, Nuri al-Maliki seems to be serving the exact purpose. Just after the last US convoy had left Iraq, Prime Minister Maliki issued an open invitation for US firms to help rebuild Iraq. Hailing a new chapter in the country's history, Maliki declared that his war-scarred nation was ready to construct a new economy, one that holds "limitless" opportunities for US firms. It seems that Iraq is going to suffer the neo-colonial occupation in this new chapter. Now, let us look into socio-political aspects of Iraq. Iraqi people are divided along the overriding identity of Shiite, Sunni and Kurd. During Saddam, a Sunni by origin, Shiite people were exploited and deprived by the Sunni dominated government. Now Maliki, a Shiite, in power is going in the same direction. There is already an open rift between Maliki and Vice Precident Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni by origin. Iraqi government has issued a warrant against the vice president. It sparked fear that Iraq's fragile year-old unity government could fall apart. Fighting between Sunnis and Shiite left thousands dead in the tit-for-tat attacks in 2006-2007. Who knows what will happen next? My assumption is weighing on "two Iraq solution" as an imminent future of this country. Since the declaration of the US withdrawal from Iraq, analysts have been claiming that the US is making a strategic shift from the Middle East to the Asia Pacific, focusing on the encirclement of China. Many Middle East experts are speculating that it will empower Iran to get the upper hand in this region. But, still the US has five military bases in the Middle East around Iran. Moreover, having intercontinental missile the US would not allow Iran to destabilise the Middle East, if Iran ever wants so. The most dangerous situation is that Iraq may turn into another breeding ground of insurgency like Afghanistan. Already, there are hidden but growing dissents among the Iraqis against the government and the US. The Shiite and Sunni rift may erupt into a civil war which may finally lead to a process of destabilisation in the whole Middle East. It seems that Iraq, now, stands at the crossroads.
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