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Iraq: Ideology a must for independence

Iraq: Ideology a must for independence


by Mohan Nepali

The withdrawal of US troops from cities—not a bad thing in general—has for the time being pleased many in Iraq and USA. Ordinary civilians in Iraq want an end to the foreign occupation of their land on the one hand while they also want to get rid of the ongoing senseless civil war on the other. Similarly, Americans do not want their tax to be embezzled in the name of this or that war. They feel America would be far better than today should the ruling elites pay adequate attention to their domestic violence and accelerating criminalization.

Although US and Iraq’s official statistics may differ, almost two million civilians are estimated killed since the beginning of US and European military occupation in Iraq. This shows that foreign occupation has facilitated arms business and the formation of killing groups, whose sole mission is to kill human beings under different religious, cultural and political tags. The current scenario in Iraq provides us a clue that violence and massacres will not go off so easily and soon. In a sense, the Iraqi civil war can be compared with a departmental store where foreign goods and services are traded. Iraqi groups—uncountable indeed—use foreign weapons and make a regular business of killing their fellow beings. This is the most unfortunate reality to note while the Iraqi civilians genuinely want liberation not only from foreign occupation but also from internal massacre industries.

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Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Al Bolani’s article published in the Washington Post on 30 June indicates Iraqi government’s concern over their own security. Jawad and similar persons favored by the US Administration and European ruling classes naturally feel more insecure with the possible withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. They prefer US troops for ever in their land for the protection and sponsorship of their rule in the country. However, their preference alone does not work in the context of Iraq where complications have already developed unpredictably.

Referring to the withdrawal case, Jawad states in his article, “It is the beginning of a highly uncertain chapter in Iraqi democracy and self-governance.” This remark by an Iraqi leader sounds natural in terms of the intensity of conflicts and contradictions; however, this equally sounds unnatural since the home minister feels more certain and comfortable as to apply democracy and self-governance principles with the help of occupying forces.

Not difficult to understand, establishing a sense of public security will still remain a top challenge even after US troops gradually withdraw from cities to background points. Most of the fighting groups in Iraq are based on feudalistic arrogance rather than on ideologies and principles. A fight—so-called liberation struggle—just becomes a personal feud in absence of public philosophy. Killing as many civilians each day of the year as possible cannot be considered a public philosophy at all. This pure brand of terrorism will never liberate Iraq. Whatever tags killing entrepreneurs wear, they are apparently absent-minded in terms of people’s agenda. Whose liberation are they seeking by massacring dozens of civilians everyday? Armed battles are different things while exploding bombs at public centers and killing scores is totally against people. It seems Iraqis require a leadership with a political ideology and sufficient mental stamina.

A political ideology that unites and empowers people on the basis of public agenda (especially grassroots agenda) is a must for a civil war-torn country like Iraq. Democracy compatible with the universal principles of human rights is a common core concept. But under democratic veils, rulers have defamed democracy by becoming either puppets or self-centered contractors. Rulers talk of equality and diversity but prefer to preserve political and socio-economic disparity and monolithic structures under which most of the working class people remain downtrodden—a fact even the most ardent market economy advocates cannot deny. Therefore, the current rulers brainwashed by the US Administration definitely will not be able to rule Iraq properly. Most of the Iraqis apparently suspect them. But at the same time, absence of ideologically clear political force has been felt in Iraq. This is a serious challenge for Iraqi scholars, who must brainstorm and develop a new political force that could adopt a working class ideology—the best approach for the liberation from foreign occupation and internal massacre industries.

ENDS

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