As 2019 comes to a close, the New York Times reports that 24 “Iranian-backed” Iraqi militia members were killed by US air strikes in retaliation for an attack by the militia on an American contractor. Now Iraqis are massing in protest against the US, and they have attacked the US embassy in Baghdad. The newspaper also reports that anti-American sentiment is growing across the entire country.
My first question is, what does “Iranian-backed” really means, and is it really true? Because at this point the NYT is basically a propaganda wing of the Pentagon when it comes to Iraq.
Second, and more importantly, since the US invaded Iraq in 2003, it is estimated that over 1 million Iraqis have died. Several hundred thousand were killed directly by the US military through airstrikes, tank attacks, mortar, and heavy and light weapons. Others were killed by cruise missiles, grenades, land mines, drones, and all the other sophisticated tools of death the Raytheon Corporation, Northrop Grumman, and America’s numerous military corporations supply to the Pentagon. Many, more were killed by the hunger, starvation and disease that ensued from the invasion and occupation as the US systematically destroyed Iraq’s civilian infrastructure, including its energy grids and water supplies.
So is anyone really surprised that anti-US sentiment is widespread in Iraq? If I were an Iraqi, I wouldn’t be too happy with America either. Because we killed roughly 4% of their 25 million population, and turned millions more into refugees in their own country and the surrounding region.
The way I see it, America essentially systematically killed an entire generation of Iraqis and stunted the country’s development for decades to come.
That’s called genocide. It happened in Rwanda, it happened in Armenia, and now it’s happened in Iraq.
Someday America will have to answer for its sins in Iraq.
It will be a fiery reckoning indeed.
