May 20, 2007 07:26 PM
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When America formed allies with various countries in 1991 to wage a war against Iraq for the liberation of Kuwait, not many had the vaguest clues about what were they upto. The presenting of serious concerns of the Americans about Iraq’s injustice and Kuwait’s need for help pulled in nations like Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, forming the “coalition of the willing”. USA projected itself as the savior of Kuwait and deployed air and land weapons to push Iraq back into its boundaries.
Years later US again came to the gulf, this time to disarm Iraq of the weapons of mass destruction which they felt was posing a threat to the world. President George W. Bush stated that the Iraqi Government was supporting various terrorist groups including Al Qaeda and these weapons could be used for strengthening such terrorists. Countries like Poland, Britain, Denmark and Australia formed allies with the US and they set their base at Kuwait who has been friendly with the US since their liberation with its help.
Main target of the attacking nations was the downfall of the Saddam Hussein regime which they believed was the actual evil in the nation.
The invading forces succeeded but to the shock of the world, there were no such weapons of mass destruction found in the country. Later the USA gave an alternate reason for the war, saying the major oil reserves of the world were in Iraq and it was necessary to check Saddam Hussein’s powers as he was growing too closer to the terrorist forces. Political thinkers believe that this was certainly the major cause of the war. To the bewilderment of the entire world, the facts about the entire war always seemed contradictory to what the US said. Their intentions never seemed to match their actions which made many socio-political organizations doubt the intentions of the invaders time and again.
Four years past the invasion, today US stands mute at its claims for “civilizing”, “liberating” and “developing” Iraq. Lacking any fair judiciary or political systems, all that Iraq has today is a “puppet-Government”whose strings are in the hands of none other than the “super power”.
The final blow came on 30th December 2006 when Saddam Hussein was hanged in US after being captured and made a prisoner of war. The world had a lot to say about it, but US seemed to be in no mood of accepting any oppositions. Bush yet again put a brave and bold face in calling Saddam a threat for the world. Now we all wonder how Saddam was a threat to Asia, Africa or any other part of the world, but to the US who thought that loosing the title “super power” was a threat to its existence. Human rights activists raised their voices and many had predicted even before Saddam’s execution that it would take place. There were many who opposed this decision and wanted to give Saddam a fair chance to defend himself and execute his Right to adequate defense.
Months later, Yassin Ramadan, the Vice President of Iraq in the Saddam Government was deported to Iraq from US and delivered in the hands of the “puppet – Government”. This action according to the US was its display of democratic philosophy and a proof that they had no interest in ruling over Iraq. But just one hour after Ramadan’s deportment, he was hanged by the new Iraq Government. This time human rights activists at the United Nations raised full throated oppositions against Ramadan being denied his basic rights. US was in a safe place this time and their master plot had worked well by keeping their hands clear of the blood this time.
The question here is not whether or not Saddam, Ramadan and other such Iraqis got to exercise their human rights, for it is too late for that, the bigger question now is what is being done about the masses of Iraq? Iraq stands at the verge of being isolated completely from the world outside. There is news about suicide bombers, bomb blasts, sniper attacks, etc every few days. US may or may not have achieved its hidden intentions but they have left Iraq in a muck of civil wars. The nation which was once noted for its rich social conditions stands at a point where the citizens are denied even a normal identity. The two major socio-political groups in the country, Shias and Sunnis may differ at any other issues, but they are united in their choice of decision of wanting the US to go away from Iraq. A recent piece published on the BBC website written by the junior correspondent Simpson stated that the most common sound that can be heard in the streets of Iraq today is that of the generator. This proves that the “civilizing” invader, US has failed at providing the people basic necessities like electricity, which they enjoyed under the Saddam Government’s rule.
The mirage that US created in front of the world about its efforts for developing Iraq are about to break. Journalists and social activists of any countries are denied entering the country unless they are sure to be sympathetic towards America’s “sincere efforts”.
Afghanistanfaced the torment of the “bully” super power for housing Osama Bin Laden and being the hub for the movements of Al Quaeda. The nation turned into a battle field which washed out a huge part of its population. While some migrated, the other became victims of the US’s “liberation” efforts. Today Afghanistan stands as nothing more than a “liberated” landscape of dust and heat.
It is saddening to see Iraq becoming the next Afghanistan after the glorious past it has had as a free, sovereign and democratic nation. With the decision of leaving only 17 out of the 80 major oil fields under the control of the puppet – government while the others will be controlled by private companies (which are bound to be mostly American), US has finally proved its true intentions and many today agree that the invasion of Iraq was only about Oil.
