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Forum Post: State-Ending: a Brief History of the Destruction of Iraq By Florian Zollmann

Posted 9 years ago on Aug. 3, 2014, 9:28 a.m. EST by flip (7101)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

The Arabs are even less stable than the Turks. If properly handled they would remain in a state of political mosaic, a tissue of small jealous principalities incapable of cohesion. (1916 intelligence memo by Colonel T. E. Lawrence ‘of Arabia’ cited in Mark Curtis, Secret Affairs, Pluto Press, London, 2010, p. 9)

The rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has to be seen in the light of large-scale destruction and divide and rule policies enforced by Western powers on Iraq. Since 1990, the US and UK have not been able to establish a reliable client regime in Iraq. However, they have used an array of policies that have destroyed Iraq’s societal foundations and fractured the country along sectarian lines. As scholars Raymond W. Baker, Shereen T. Ismael and Tareq Y. Ismael argue in the book Cultural Cleansing in Iraq (Pluto Press, 2010) the policy of “ending states” has been applied on Iraq – the outcome of which we see today in the partition of Iraq and the rise of ISIS.

The major goal of US and UK policy in Iraq has been to prevent the rise of “Arab nationalism”. A sovereign Iraq would exploit the enormous oil resources of the country to the benefit of the Iraqi population and at the expense of Western corporations. It would pursue an independent path in international relations. It would unite Shia, Sunni and Kurdish people in one nation. It would strengthen Iraq’s relations with Iran. It would become a major economic, cultural and military power. It would provide a role model for “Arab nationalism”. In short: an independent Iraq would challenge Western hegemony in the Middle East.

The Iraq Wars: State-Destruction as Policy

A US-led coalition launched the 1991 Gulf War in order to disallow Iraq to control the Kuwaiti oil fields. According to an official UN report, the allied bombing campaign reduced the country to “pre-industrial age”. Under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council, the US and UK voted for a “genocidal” sanctions regime (in the words of former UN Human Rights Coordinator in Baghdad, Denis Halliday) which likely killed about 500,000 Iraqi children. The sanctions effectively weakened the Iraqi population, both in material and political terms, and ensured that Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein remained in power. This was well in accord with US/UK policy goals as, at the time, the West was not able to invade Iraq and could not find a political alternative in line with its interests.

In 2003, the US and UK called for an invasion of Iraq because of the country’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction. Available evidence from former UN inspectors pointed to Iraq’s nearly completed disarmament. However, in the political climate after 9/11, US and UK government propaganda was sufficiently able to manufacture Western elites’ compliance for war. Notwithstanding: the invasion/occupation was illegal according to international law.

During the 2003 Iraq War and subsequent occupation, the neoliberal “shock doctrine” was enforced via military and economic means. The military phase of the “shock” entailed an intensive bombing campaign during which the US/Coalition targeted military and government buildings, as well as so-called dual use facilities such as factories, media installations, telecommunication centers and electrical power stations. As the UK Charity Medact cautioned in a report on the 2003 Iraq War: “The mental and physical health of already weakened and unhealthy people is being damaged further.”

The Occupation of Iraq: State-Ending

The economic phase of the “shock” included the dismantlement of the state controlled economy during which the US installed Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) crushed the massive state apparatus of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Party and dismissed hundreds of thousands of largely Sunni state employees and military personnel. The CPA also laid the political ground for a sectarian state by introducing ethnic quotas for the Iraqi Interim Government. At the same time, the CPA opened the economy for “foreign investment”.

“Privatisation” measures did not have any long-term recovery effects on the economy. Quite to the contrary, major parts of Iraq’s economy collapsed, forcing the country into a downturn spiral of unemployment and depression. The radical shift to private enterprise also inhibited the reconstruction and maintenance of the already weakened public institutions like electrical, hospital, water and sewage facilities. While the degree of economic decline varied across regions, it were the Sunni cities, largely harbouring state facilities and government employees, which were most heavily affected.

The policies implemented by the CPA cemented the “ending” of Iraqi state institutions and fostered sectarian tensions as they virtually excluded the Sunnis from political and economic participation. It was consequently in the Sunni cities where national resistance against the occupation regime recognizably emerged in 2003 and 2004.

ISIS and the “Salvador Option”

As part of “counter-insurgency” strategy, US/Coalition forces trained Shia and Kurdish militias to quell Sunni resistance, thus contributing to the devastating Sunni/Shia civil war of 2006/2007. US/Coalition forces did not shy away from also funding Sunni paramilitaries during the so called “surge” in 2007 when local Sunni militias were armed to fight al-Qaeda in the tribal areas. Such measures were adopted from a previous “counter-insurgency” operation in Latin America – the so-called “Salvador Option”.

Despite of visual successes in curbing violence with the “surge” in 2007, it could be argued that the US/Coalition had encouraged long-term sectarian conflict over reconciliation in Iraq. According to Chas Freeman, former US-ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the policies of arming fractions in Iraq “essentially supported a quasi-feudal devolution of authority to armed enclaves, which exist at the expense of central government authority…Those we are arming and training are arming and training themselves not to facilitate our objectives but to pursue their own objectives vis-à-vis other Iraqis. It means that the sectarian and ethnic conflicts that are now suppressed are likely to burst out with even greater ferocity in the future.” (cited in Cultural Cleansing in Iraq, p. 15)

It is therefore not surprising that a body like ISIS has been rising out of the ashes of Iraq. It should also be clear that a politically weak and fractured Iraq serves Western interests better than a united and independent nation.

Today, Iraqi society is destroyed with more than 1 million people killed since the invasion/occupation of 2003. The foundations of these developments were laid during the process of “state-ending” that uprooted Iraqi civil society and undermined the basis of a secular state. Under US/Coalition and subsequent Shia-Iraqi rule, the Sunni minority of Iraq has not been adequately included in the political process.

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[-] 5 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

''A country whose population has been trained to accept the government’s word and to shun those who question it is a country without liberty in its future.'' (Dr. P.C.Roberts) & I'll repeat ...

a) Despite ''Large-scale destruction and divide and rule policies enforced by Western powers on Iraq (, s)ince 1990, the US and UK have not been able to establish a reliable client regime in Iraq. However, they have used an array of policies that have destroyed Iraq’s societal foundations and fractured the country along sectarian lines.''

b) ''A sovereign Iraq would exploit the enormous oil resources of the country to the benefit of the Iraqi population and at the expense of Western corporations. It would pursue an independent path in international relations. It would unite Shia, Sunni and Kurdish people in one nation. It would strengthen Iraq’s relations with Iran. It would become a major economic, cultural and military power. It would provide a role model for “Arab nationalism”. In short: an independent Iraq would challenge Western hegemony in the Middle East.''

c) ''A US-led coalition launched the 1991 Gulf War in order to disallow Iraq to control the Kuwaiti oil fields. According to an official UN report, the allied bombing campaign reduced the country to “pre-industrial age”. Under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council, the US and UK voted for a “genocidal” sanctions regime (in the words of former UN Human Rights Coordinator in Baghdad, Denis Halliday) which likely killed about 500,000 Iraqi children. The sanctions effectively weakened the Iraqi population, both in material and political terms, and ensured that Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein remained in power. This was well in accord with US/UK policy goals as, at the time, the West was not able to invade Iraq and could not find a political alternative in line with its interests.''

d) ''In 2003, the US and UK called for an invasion of Iraq because of the country’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction. Available evidence from former UN inspectors pointed to Iraq’s nearly completed disarmament. However, in the political climate after 9/11, US and UK government propaganda was sufficiently able to manufacture Western elites’ compliance for war. Notwithstanding: the invasion/occupation was illegal according to international law.''

e) Thus finally .. ''It is therefore not surprising that a body like ISIS has been rising out of the ashes of Iraq. It should also be clear that a politically weak and fractured Iraq serves Western interests better than a united and independent nation.''

~

Further to the essential extracts above & to your excellent forum-post here, I append a very short video :

Quite obviously The PNAC Neocons are right at the heart of all this - then and now and many links and articles could be provided for that but I limit myself to that wee video clip.There are many questions and many 'answers' that will never be simply given to The 99% and so, they'll have to be deduced & inferred.

However - IF we do not subscribe to ALL the official explanations and declared PR reasonings of TPTB .. then we are guilty of subscribing to ''conspiracy theories'' apparently - lol, hrumph & hmmm. Thus fyi :

From which, I briefly excerpt ...

''A “conspiracy theory” no longer means an event explained by a conspiracy. Instead, it now means any explanation, or even a fact, that is out of step with the government’s explanation and that of its media pimps.

''For example, online news broadcasts of RT have been equated with conspiracy theories by the New York Times simply because RT reports news and opinions that the New York Times does not report and the US government does not endorse.

''In other words, as truth becomes uncomfortable for government and its Ministry of Propaganda, truth is redefined as conspiracy theory, by which is meant an absurd and laughable explanation that we should ignore.

''When piles of carefully researched books, released government documents, and testimony of eye witnesses made it clear that Oswald was not President John F. Kennedy’s assassin, the voluminous research, government documents, and verified testimony was dismissed as “conspiracy theory.”

''In other words, the truth of the event was unacceptable to the authorities and to the Ministry of Propaganda that represents the interests of authorities.''

veritas vos liberabit ...

[-] 3 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

hey shadz - good job as usual. i am not too interested in those idiots who try to close off thought by using the conspiracy theory defense. as i said the official theory is a conspiracy theory so that blows up all. i do agree with chomsky in that it doesn't really matter who killed kennedy or who brought down the towers - what matters is what is being done to us and how the events are used by the ruling class. that said thrasy is an ass and deserves all you can heap on him. he once said he was continuing in the tradition of socrates - wow can you get any more stupid. also told me he lives in bali with servants! creep. his idea of discussion is to make pronouncements. not worth wasting time on - for me anyway. so keep at it - we need to move the ball forward - or maybe by now it is backward - what do you think? oh, and as an aside i am not surprised that he is short fat and bald - and the best part is he claims to think he is sexy - my experience is those that really are don't have to say it

[-] 4 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

I just may disagree with Chomsky and you there flip ... in the first part of re. ''that it doesn't really matter who killed kennedy or who brought down the towers - what matters is what is being done to us and how the events are used by the ruling class.'' - although I do also fully agree with the second clause there.

ALL that has transpired since 9/!! in Afghanistan, Iraq and across the world - is predicated on 19 Arabs with simple box cutters, having thwarted NORAD on the single day that it is having three simultaneous exercises and leaving the North Eastern US skies undefended .. including The Pentagon - perhaps the most securely defended and surveilled building in the world .. without any real evidence whatsoever of a plane ... never mind a plane crash having hit that building - bar 3/4 single highly ambiguous frames of a much longer sequestered video.

Re. Trashy - he's a total techno-snob, tech-feudalist and a proud 'neo-reactionary' - who does not identify with The 99% in any way .. bar a 'chameleonic' lip-service & re his 'Socratic pretensions' :

Now flip, to the ball 'backward or forward' I append here, this moving short video re a wider view of Gaza :

e tenebris, lux ...

[-] 4 points by Nevada1 (5843) 9 years ago

Good time to remind people that WTC7 was reported down, while still standing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mxFRigYD3s

[-] 4 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

A PR meme that ''The Saloman Brothers' Building'' (aka WTC Bldg.7) had ... ''collapsed due to structural weakening'', was put out early - so early in fact - that it actually preceded the actual event !!! I too simply accepted the official version of events for a long time !! Until finally the reality of WTC7 hit me upside the head via a friend's gentle nudge ! Also fyi : http://rememberbuilding7.org/ .

fiat lux ...

[-] 2 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

you are correct - how about this - i should have said what is more important not that it doesn't matter. for sure the official story stinks as it does with jfk and mlk. as for the dipshit from bali he is not worth much time or effort. i like your description of him - but his own description tells much about him. i have not met too many people who say they are sexy. the ones that are don't have to say it

[-] 4 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

'T' is his own 'CONspiracy theory !!! But a useful idiot nevertheless !! He does get a pat ; Pat ; PAT on the head for aiding in the ousting The DNC / Likud Faction from power here and I can not pretend, that that is not a significant change for the better here !

Can't speak to his 'sexyness' but he did used to spam vile pornographic photos here at one point in the early days & ironically The Original ZenDog could've attested to that tho' others here may recall that too.

I believe that he has a wee wifey in Bali - who I think he married for Indonesian passport purposes ... but it could have been for a Canadian Passport for her, lol. He's a neo-feudalist ; neo-reactionary ; tech-snob from Montreal I think and more of a 'US Libertarian' in his politics than anything else. He is also a rather renowned 'jart botherer' - on and off this forum. But further to my Chris Hedges video above, fyi - see ...

[-] 4 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

Nice job and thanks for the info. my description of him is less poetic and much less interesting. He is an ASSHOLE! If he was the one who trolled zen and the others I will remove the caps from his description. And what is with the new zen and Shooz - no troll in the name anymore and better attitude. Seems anyway. I am not here much

[-] 5 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Hmmmm ! Curiouser & curiouser !! Banning this reply will make it 3 in a row !!!

Here is the salient link from the two previous now banned reply comments below ...

http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2014/08/03/israel-genocide-and-the-logic-of-zionism/

The salient point there was that the new ZenDog + the new shooz = Same Old Trashy.

minima maxima sunt ...

[-] 2 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

you are never dull

[Removed]

[Removed]

[-] -3 points by ZenDog (-18) from Burlington, VT 9 years ago

Honestly, I didn't even realize I had a bad attitude. You kind of lose track when you use this site everyday. When jart labelled me a troll, it made me think twice. What's important is large. Big problems. Not personal squabbles. I want to learn and act through cooperation now, not infighting.

[-] 3 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

bullshit trashytroll - save it for a newbie - i have seen your act and it is a bad one. no idea what is really wrong with you but it is serious. unless you are being paid then i understand - we all have to pay the rent somehow. otherwise you are a complete disgrace of a human being - all the more so since this is an ows site. ows may be our last good chance at meaningful change and those like you have the nerve to fuck it up. disgraceful - you should be ashamed of yourself.

[-] -3 points by ZenDog (-18) from Burlington, VT 9 years ago

The founders like jart will be the first to tell you that OWS is unfortunately dead. The general assemblies no longer exist, OWS no longer does actions like Occupying or port blocking. The only thing left is this forum where people don't plan actions, but mostly argue and present some half baked theories about better worlds.

OWS is over, so don't count on it to save us. It tried and failed to make a dent.

Something else will come up. I encourage you to come up with ideas for new actions and put them into practice. Don't wait for OWS to do things for you.

[-] 3 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

Didn't ask for your opinion or advice. Time will tell what happens to ows and the world. I will be very happy if you leave us all alone pretend zen

[Removed]

[-] 2 points by MattHolck0 (3867) 9 years ago

also an alternative news site

[-] -1 points by ZenDog (-18) from Burlington, VT 9 years ago

Yup, that is the main function now. An alternative news site.

[-] 1 points by MattHolck0 (3867) 9 years ago

what advantage would the pentagon gain by lying about getting hit by a plane ?

[-] 5 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Hmmm, good question ! My position is there is no evidence of a plane or plane crash having occurred !! But something hit it !!! The ''advantage'' is rather speculative but ''cassus belli'' is right up there and you may wish to research exactly where the 'impact explosion' hit and what were the offices located there involved with .. & research or recall Donald's Rumsfelt's replies to a Congressional Defencee Budget Committee hearing on 10/9/01. Also consider : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDfdOwt2v3Y !!!

multum in parvo ...

[-] 5 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

hey man not sure what you sent me but it was removed. why and by whom - the son of socrates? who the fuck put him in charge? and is he using poor old zen's id now - and also shooz? wow is this place fucked. i am losing hope. jart runs the store no? what is wrong with those in control that they cannot find someone reasonable to moderate the site. can't be that difficult. i am not here that often but i sure have an idea who is ok and who sucks - not hard to see. oh well - sorry to rant - just struggling to understand that we went from shooz to trashy - what a shame

[-] 4 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Yes, it was a very curious turn of events indeed !!! I think not only has 'T' got a bunch of monikers here now but that he may also have usurped the mod privileges too - the prima facie evidence is here on this thread !! But no flip, despite all the many efforts to kill it, it's not true that - ''this place is fucked'', not yet anyway as there are still many here to testify and behave otherwise ! My replacement reply to those two 'removed' ones, was :

consilio et animis ...

[-] 3 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

Ok I stand corrected. AGAIN! Now I know how trashy feels. You always seem to be right. I would ban you if I were the moderator. Well my only consolation is that we are on the same side! I am certainly glad ows is not fucked. Always like reading your responses

[-] 3 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Viva O.W.S ! Viva The 99% !! But alas ... pedestals are only good for falling off !!!

fiat lux ...

[-] 3 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

i will work on making it higher in the future - thanks for the info on ukraine - some i had not seen which is the real reason i come here. like 9/11 my first instinct is not to trust what my government is saying. all too often it is the correct response

[-] 2 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Your instincts are correct I fear & I'll prep for the nose bleed and heavy landing after any future elevation ;-) I tend to agree with what you say here above and elsewhere & further fyi - I append a wee video link :

pax ...

[-] 1 points by MattHolck0 (3867) 9 years ago

those UN weapons inspectors had me convinced my government was lying

[-] 2 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

Lbj convinced me

[-] 1 points by MattHolck0 (3867) 9 years ago

fair enough

[-] 1 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

yeah

[-] 3 points by Nevada1 (5843) 9 years ago

More proof that no airliner hit Pentagon------

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFz7gLz7CVk

[-] 5 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Thanx for the very 'telling' link Nev1 & I also liked your previous link so am re-submitting it here :

https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AjoM56FuzHwFtAvFTFHHmoGbvZx4?p=no+evidence+of+airliner+hitting+pentagon&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-310&fp=1

fiat lux ...

[-] 4 points by MattHolck0 (3867) 9 years ago

that day forward; recording devices where banned from government buildings

think they were trying to stave off the information paradigm shift

[-] 3 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Ok - but put a space between the parenthesis and the beginning & end of the url tho', right ?!

pax ...

[-] 3 points by MattHolck0 (3867) 9 years ago

this forum uses markdown language tags

http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/basics

some tags are blocked

[-] 3 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Ok. I'm NOT a coder. I'm just a muggle ;-)

vale ...

[-] -3 points by ZenDog (-18) from Burlington, VT 9 years ago

My position is there is no evidence of a plane or plane crash having occurred !!

You're a "No Planer". Wow, it's worse than I thought.

There's all kind of evidence a plane hit. There's also the passengers from that plane that went missing. There are bodies that were found.

You can't be serious right?

You're still fooled by these sophomoric conspiracy theories about 911?

How moronic can you be?

So strange, at first glance you seem somewhat intelligent, but then you get caught up in Truther nonsense with so much ease? Like a gullible person getting caught up in scientology.

[-] 6 points by ShadzSixtySix (1936) 9 years ago

Why have you stolen another user's moniker Trashy ?!!! What is your actual affiliation to The MSM and Establishment's ''Official 9/!! Conspiracy Theory' ?!! Just how & why do you still buy that ''conspiracy'' ?!

Don't reply or expect a response 'cause if you do I won't entertain any further exchanges with a 'hungry ghost' on this matter & WTC Building 7 was my real eureka / OMG moment but for a short video as to the p-o-v held by me and millions of others re. The Pentagon, do now closely consider, if you can - this :

Nobody loves talking about 9/!! more than you 'T' ! Your preference for TPTB's version is noted .. again !! You are the 'Definitive CONspiracy Actuality' here on this forum and you are the oft exposed fraud here !

temet nosce ...

[-] 1 points by veritablevegitable (17) 9 years ago

" The Arabs are even less stable than the Turks. If properly handled they would remain in a state of political mosaic, a tissue of small jealous principalities incapable of cohesion."

Does anyone wonder. Does this state of being. Constant conflicts of acquisition and control in the middle east. Does it have to do with being an area of intense material poverty? That material poverty being a shortage of good farmland and fresh water. Does that go to the mindset of needing to have control to satisfy a personal need?

Now that we are in an age where technology could provide water to create good farm land as well as support a large civilization. Why are the struggles for survival just as harsh as they were prior to the advancement of technology. Why is clean technology not pounced upon and made prolific?

Are the continuing conflicts due to an instilled insanity of needing to survive in a land of scarcity?

[-] 4 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

i think oil is at the base of much of the trouble there - going back to the british drawing lines in certain ways. then water is a big problem - probably has lots to do with israel and palestine. water is not going to be an easy problem to solve. not there or china or arizona etc. then we always have that old bogey man the military industrial complex - we need enemies and war no?? how can we keep building aircraft carriers otherwise

[-] 3 points by veritablevegitable (17) 9 years ago

And so operational procedure calls for arming for peace rather than seed clean technology to relieve scarcities. Guaranteeing a never ending series of conflicts.

[-] 3 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

That is how it seems to me. Sad commentary on our "leadership"

[-] 3 points by veritablevegitable (17) 9 years ago

Sad to think that in many instances, that the population put these monsters in their positions. A sad commentary on populations.

[-] 3 points by flip (7101) 9 years ago

right on man! watched the movie "dr strangelove" last night - wow what a great piece of work. we have allowed these people to put us in harms way for much too long. and for what - so they can play "the great game" and keep their money and power