By Shanzag Mandai
United states failed to nurture ideas and notions of western democracy in Iraq .The reason of failure is simple to comprehend. United States ruthlessly trampled on ethos of realism.
In case of Iraq, staunch advocates of realism believe that abstract principles and moral precepts of western democracy is not in synonymous with history geography and constellation of ethnic and sectarian groups in Iraq. By bringing western democratic ideas at barrel of guns and remorselessly brushing aside unique geography, history of Iraq and ethnic groups, America woefully failed to achieve its war aims.
Geography of Iraq, in fact, determined and shaped system of governance for centuries. There is no natural defences and boundaries such as huge and insurmountable mountain range to protect its sovereignty territorial integrity from internal anarchy and foreign adventures. Nor there is any ocean to serve as natural bulwark and protective shield against foreign cyclones. The gigantic geographic vulnerability fostered and baptized authoritarian and totalitarian system of governance in Iraq for centuries.
There is an ancient and longstanding understanding that without iron man at helm of affairs, Iraq couldn’t protect itself from internal turbulence and foreign conspiracies.
In sharp contrast, western democratic ideas took deep roots in Great Britain and United states, because both remained saved from centuries of upheavals turmoil and wars of Empires in Europe.
Geography of both countries made this overwhelmingly blessed miracle possible. Atlantic ocean in case of England, paid rich dividends as it protected United Kingdom from virulent and pugnacious politics of Europe. In case of United States, both Atlantic and Pacific oceans saved it by separating it thousands of miles from war monger crowed continent of Europe and Asian adventurism.
Undoubtedly, democratic ideas found very healthy and fertile climate to grow in U.K and America. Both states faced no such painful and chronic threat of foreign invasion as Iraq confronted in its chequered and tortuous history. It was definitely preposterous blunder of policy makers in Pentagon to read and understand Iraq from lens of democratic experience of United states. On example is enough to argue that why strong and centralized system of governance represent needs of Iraq.
Invasion of Mongol king Alahko Khan is unforgettable part and parcel of collective memory of Iraqians.
Vandalism and acts of savagery of Mongol king dangerously exposed vulnerability of geography of Iraq.
Absence of natural defences such as impregnable and invincible mountains range courted Alahko Khan to satiate its lust for loot and carnage. To compensate this fragility of geography, every rulers in history of Iraq devised suffocating and despotic centralized system of governance.
Like Geography, history of Iraq was also misunderstood. In most periods of both ancient and modern history, Iraq witnessed government of strong and single persons. We have Tiglath Pilesar, ( 11th century B.C) and Sennaxherib ( 8th century B.C) and Ashurnasirpal (9th century B.C). These mentioned kings established the most centralized and tyrannical kingdoms with sole purpose to their kingdom from internal fragmentation and foreign forays. Saddam Hussein regime was certainly embodiment of this longstanding legacy and part of this continual cycle of authoritarianism.
By injecting dose of abstract principles of western democracy, U. S miserably faild to take cognizance of History of Iraq.
First causality of senseless war against Iraq was ethnic and religious harmony among Shia, Sunnis and Kurds. Ethnic and religious war in Iraq perished hundreds of thousands from 2003 to 2007.
It took decade to build pyramids of ethnic and religious unity and fraternity in Iraq. And U.S invasion smashed tower of ethnic and religious solidarity into pieces in the most brutal way. When centralized system of governance collapsed after invasion, Iraq was transformed into Hobbesian state of Nature where everyone was at war against every one. Since there was no Hobbesian leviathan to restore writ of state, every group created state within state.
The biggest miscalculation on the part of United states was that it preferred freedom to order in Iraq. In Iraq order is more precious than freedom, because later becomes important only after the former has been established. Though President Saddam Hussein’s administration was totalitarian, but it maintained semblance of order in Iraq. Though there was smouldering ethnic and sectarian tensions, but strong centralized governance of Saddam and his predecessors maintained writ of state.
There was a spectacular difference between First and Second Gulf wars. Unites state achieved a cracking Triumph when it ended occupation of Iraq in Kuwait. The victory no doubt attributed to successful air strikes which reduced position of Iraq into shambles. However, Bush Administration stopped short of regime change. It also refused to land boots on Iraqi soil. In sharp contrast, Bush Jr Administration included regime change as top priority in war aims and to realize this madness it landed boots on land of Iraq. Such craziness opened floodgates of bloodshed aftermath of occupation.
Instead to arrest chaos and establish pluralistic form of governance, United states occupation ignited possibility Israel’s military intervention in Iraq. Tale of Israeli airstrike within Iraq is still fresh in collective memory of the Middle East. It is worth to note that whole world stood shocked, when Israel destroyed unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor in June 1981 in a operation codenamed “Operation Babylon”. Such air strikes couldn’t be ruled out in future.