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Thursday, November 10, 2016

Seven World-Historical 'Achievements' Of The Iraq Invasion Of 2003

Here is a list of the noteworthy, ongoing results of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq beginning in March 2003. (Recall that invasion was denounced by the UN as illegal, based entirely on lies, and—given the U.S.’s hegemonic position in the world, allowing it to act with impunity—the crime’s architects have never punished.)

1) The principal achievement of the war and occupation was the dramatic expansion of the al-Qaeda network that had attacked the U.S. on January 11, 2001. An al-Qaeda franchise was established in Iraq for the first time, playing a key role in the Sunni “insurrection” against the occupiers and their Shiite allies, then expanding across the border into Syria where it split into the al-Nusra affiliate and its even more savage rival, ISIL. Iraq also served and serves as a training ground for jihadis now operating from Iraq to Libya and beyond.

2) The invasion and its consequences encouraged the cause of Kurdistan, an imagined state straddling Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. The Kurds are the largest stateless people in the world, victims of British and French colonialists who divided the region between them after World War I. After the Gulf War of 1991, the U.S. established a “no-fly” zone over northern Iraq to discourage Baghdad from deploying troops in the region. Iraqi Kurdistan had already obtained a degree of autonomy before the invasion but the status became official under the occupation and a referendum for independence is likely to pass soon. This would infuriate Iraq and perhaps provoke Turkey’s intervention. As it is, the autonomous region is locked in struggle with Baghdad over territorial claims and control over oil fields.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, hundreds of thousands are needlessly dead or displaced, hundreds of millions worldwide are terrorized, an entire region of the world is destabilized, Europe is suffering, the U.S. military is bogged down in a seemingly endless conflict in more than one front, our soldiers and Marines are dying when they shouldn't be, and a very few people are making an insane amount of money, some of which is being funneled to the Clintons.
Does that sound about right?

Anonymous said...

12:49
Correct.

Stop volunteering for the armed services.
It is not in the best interest of your Country or yourself!

We need to starve the neocons of fighting men (cannon fodder).

Anonymous said...

1:07
That's a sure way to get the Military Draft reinstated. And this time our sisters and daughters will be going.