The American Legacy in Iraq

georgephillip

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2009
43,537
5,105
1,840
Los Angeles, California
"BARRY LANDO is a former producer for 60 Minutes who now lives in Paris. He is the author of The Watchman’s File. He can be reached at: [email protected] or through his website."

Barry's recent post at CounterPunch alleges the US legacy in Iraq involves genocide more than democracy, and a carefully choreographed cover-up/revisionist spin on the actual events of the last decade.

"The last thing the U.S. should do is become militarily embroiled in the conflict raging again in Iraq. But for Americans to shake their heads in lofty disdain and turn away, as if they have no responsibility for the continued bloodletting, is outrageous.

"Why?

"Because America bears a large part of the blame for turning Iraq into the basket case it’s become.

"The great majority of Americans don’t realize that fact.

"They never did.

"So much of what the U.S. did to Iraq has been consigned by America to a black hole of history.

"Iraqis, however, can never forget.

"In 1990, for instance, during the first Gulf War, George H.W. Bush, called on the people of Iraq to rise up and overthrow Saddam Hussein.

"But when they finally did, after Saddam’s forces were driven from Kuwait, President Bush refused any gesture of support, even permitted Saddam’s pilots to keep flying their deadly helicopter gunships.

"Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were slaughtered."

The American Legacy in Iraq » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
 
"By 1999 a UNICEF study concluded that half a million Iraqi children perished in the previous eight years because of the sanctions—and that was four years before they ended. Another American expert in 2003 estimated that the sanctions killed between 343,900 and 529,000 young children and infants–certainly more young people than were ever killed by Saddam Hussein."

The American Legacy in Iraq » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
 
Carnage, instability, radiation sickness, poverty and a government with declining/little influence or control outside of Baghdad
There's a "conspiracy" theory that holds Iraq has been destined for destruction since the mid-1950s, at least. The last twenty years seem to bear out the possibility that Baghdad will soon be a city-state sitting between a Sh'ia enclave alongside Iran, and a Sunni state along the border with Syria.

There may well be a "Free" Kurdistan positioned between the three sub-states and Turkey.

Then it's on to Sudan, Somalia, and Iran...(and Russia???)
 
Carnage, instability, radiation sickness, poverty and a government with declining/little influence or control outside of Baghdad
There's a "conspiracy" theory that holds Iraq has been destined for destruction since the mid-1950s, at least. The last twenty years seem to bear out the possibility that Baghdad will soon be a city-state sitting between a Sh'ia enclave alongside Iran, and a Sunni state along the border with Syria.

There may well be a "Free" Kurdistan positioned between the three sub-states and Turkey.

Then it's on to Sudan, Somalia, and Iran...(and Russia???)

I don't think it is a conspiracy so much as Iraq, like many other places, is the victim of policies (some well intentioned, most not so much) carried out by the blind, bumbling, retarded giant that is US foreign policy.
 
That's what happens when Republicans are in charge. They don't like to read so the only history they know is the one they rewrite. In fact, if they don't care about the middle class and the poor here in this country, the ONLY reason they would be interested in Iraq is for oil and profit.
 
That's what happens when Republicans are in charge. They don't like to read so the only history they know is the one they rewrite. In fact, if they don't care about the middle class and the poor here in this country, the ONLY reason they would be interested in Iraq is for oil and profit.
Oh bullshit. This crap is the product of administrations of both major parties going back to Truman.
 
Carnage, instability, radiation sickness, poverty and a government with declining/little influence or control outside of Baghdad
There's a "conspiracy" theory that holds Iraq has been destined for destruction since the mid-1950s, at least. The last twenty years seem to bear out the possibility that Baghdad will soon be a city-state sitting between a Sh'ia enclave alongside Iran, and a Sunni state along the border with Syria.

There may well be a "Free" Kurdistan positioned between the three sub-states and Turkey.

Then it's on to Sudan, Somalia, and Iran...(and Russia???)

I don't think it is a conspiracy so much as Iraq, like many other places, is the victim of policies (some well intentioned, most not so much) carried out by the blind, bumbling, retarded giant that is US foreign policy.
I don't know how much credibility you assign the views of Ramsey Clark; however, he was in Baghdad during the '91 campaign, and he's researched the roots of US designs on Iraqi oil:

"Iraq has been a target of covert activity by the United States since at least 1958, when British influence in the region began to wane.

"On July 14 of that year, a popular, nationalist revolution in Iraq led by Abdel Karim Kassem overthrew the Hashemite monarchy, which had been installed by the British in 1921. The new government helped foind the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which was formed in 1960 to resist the power of Western oil monopolies.

"Kassem said: 'We are not combating the oil companies for another 7 million dinars a year. We are fighting for the industrialization of our republic and an end to our dependence on the sale of crude oil.'(3)

"Kassem challenged the absolute stranglehold Western oil companies then held on the marketing of Arb oil.

"Washington had little tolerance for this challenge to its long-standing intention to succeed colonial Britain and France as the dominant power in the Middle East.

"Ever since, the United States has planned to weaken Iraq and control its oil.

"Shortly after the 1958 revolution, the CIA formed a 'health alterations committee' to plot Kassem's assassination.

"At the same time, U.S. generals in Turkey devised a military plan, code-named Canonbone, for invading northern Iraq and seizing the oil fields there (4).

"In 1963, Kassem and thousands of his supporters were massacred in a bloody CIA-backed coup."

Most Americans probably don't know or care about how Saddam and his party came to power, and many Iraqis can't forget or forgive.

The Fire This Time - U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf. Book by Ramsey Clark - Radio Islam
 
There's a "conspiracy" theory that holds Iraq has been destined for destruction since the mid-1950s, at least. The last twenty years seem to bear out the possibility that Baghdad will soon be a city-state sitting between a Sh'ia enclave alongside Iran, and a Sunni state along the border with Syria.

There may well be a "Free" Kurdistan positioned between the three sub-states and Turkey.

Then it's on to Sudan, Somalia, and Iran...(and Russia???)

I don't think it is a conspiracy so much as Iraq, like many other places, is the victim of policies (some well intentioned, most not so much) carried out by the blind, bumbling, retarded giant that is US foreign policy.
I don't know how much credibility you assign the views of Ramsey Clark; however, he was in Baghdad during the '91 campaign, and he's researched the roots of US designs on Iraqi oil:

"Iraq has been a target of covert activity by the United States since at least 1958, when British influence in the region began to wane.

"On July 14 of that year, a popular, nationalist revolution in Iraq led by Abdel Karim Kassem overthrew the Hashemite monarchy, which had been installed by the British in 1921. The new government helped foind the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which was formed in 1960 to resist the power of Western oil monopolies.

"Kassem said: 'We are not combating the oil companies for another 7 million dinars a year. We are fighting for the industrialization of our republic and an end to our dependence on the sale of crude oil.'(3)

"Kassem challenged the absolute stranglehold Western oil companies then held on the marketing of Arb oil.

"Washington had little tolerance for this challenge to its long-standing intention to succeed colonial Britain and France as the dominant power in the Middle East.

"Ever since, the United States has planned to weaken Iraq and control its oil.

"Shortly after the 1958 revolution, the CIA formed a 'health alterations committee' to plot Kassem's assassination.

"At the same time, U.S. generals in Turkey devised a military plan, code-named Canonbone, for invading northern Iraq and seizing the oil fields there (4).

"In 1963, Kassem and thousands of his supporters were massacred in a bloody CIA-backed coup."

Most Americans probably don't know or care about how Saddam and his party came to power, and many Iraqis can't forget or forgive.

The Fire This Time - U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf. Book by Ramsey Clark - Radio Islam

My only problem with your post is that we went into Iraq, spent years doing whatever, and then we ended up not bothering with any of their oil. China is who's benefiting from Iraq's oil right now.
 
That's what happens when Republicans are in charge. They don't like to read so the only history they know is the one they rewrite. In fact, if they don't care about the middle class and the poor here in this country, the ONLY reason they would be interested in Iraq is for oil and profit.
US designs on Iraqi oil go back to 1944, at least:

"The Red Line Agreement had been "part of a network of agreements made in the 1920s to restrict supply of petroleum and ensure that the major [mostly American] companies…could control oil prices on world markets".[5]

"The Red Line agreement governed the development of Middle East oil for the next two decades.

"The Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement of 1944 was based on negotiations between the United States and Britain over the control of Middle Eastern oil.

"Below is shown what the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt had in mind for to a British Ambassador in 1944:

"Persian oil …is yours. We share the oil of Iraq and Kuwait. As for Saudi Arabian oil, it’s ours.[6]"

American intervention in the Middle East - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As I recall, the US was the world's leading oil exporter when FDR carved up Middle Eastern oil for the benefit of western oil companies.
 
I don't think it is a conspiracy so much as Iraq, like many other places, is the victim of policies (some well intentioned, most not so much) carried out by the blind, bumbling, retarded giant that is US foreign policy.
I don't know how much credibility you assign the views of Ramsey Clark; however, he was in Baghdad during the '91 campaign, and he's researched the roots of US designs on Iraqi oil:

"Iraq has been a target of covert activity by the United States since at least 1958, when British influence in the region began to wane.

"On July 14 of that year, a popular, nationalist revolution in Iraq led by Abdel Karim Kassem overthrew the Hashemite monarchy, which had been installed by the British in 1921. The new government helped foind the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which was formed in 1960 to resist the power of Western oil monopolies.

"Kassem said: 'We are not combating the oil companies for another 7 million dinars a year. We are fighting for the industrialization of our republic and an end to our dependence on the sale of crude oil.'(3)

"Kassem challenged the absolute stranglehold Western oil companies then held on the marketing of Arb oil.

"Washington had little tolerance for this challenge to its long-standing intention to succeed colonial Britain and France as the dominant power in the Middle East.

"Ever since, the United States has planned to weaken Iraq and control its oil.

"Shortly after the 1958 revolution, the CIA formed a 'health alterations committee' to plot Kassem's assassination.

"At the same time, U.S. generals in Turkey devised a military plan, code-named Canonbone, for invading northern Iraq and seizing the oil fields there (4).

"In 1963, Kassem and thousands of his supporters were massacred in a bloody CIA-backed coup."

Most Americans probably don't know or care about how Saddam and his party came to power, and many Iraqis can't forget or forgive.

The Fire This Time - U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf. Book by Ramsey Clark - Radio Islam

My only problem with your post is that we went into Iraq, spent years doing whatever, and then we ended up not bothering with any of their oil. China is who's benefiting from Iraq's oil right now.
China and Russia are competing; however, western oil companies are doing better in Iraq than they have since 1972:

"'Western producers like BP, Exxon Mobil, and Shell are enjoying their
best access to Iraq’s southern oil fields since 1972,' Business Week
noted in its issue of March 4th of last year. {2011} (1972 was the year
Saddam Hussein nationalized Iraq’s oil fields.)

"Business Week quotes Andy Inglis, BP’s chief executive for exploration
and production as saying, 'We see this as the beginning of a long-term
relationship with Iraq and will continue to look for further
opportunities.'"

Western Oil Firms Big Winners In Iraq By Sherwood Ross
 
I don't think it is a conspiracy so much as Iraq, like many other places, is the victim of policies (some well intentioned, most not so much) carried out by the blind, bumbling, retarded giant that is US foreign policy.
I don't know how much credibility you assign the views of Ramsey Clark; however, he was in Baghdad during the '91 campaign, and he's researched the roots of US designs on Iraqi oil:

"Iraq has been a target of covert activity by the United States since at least 1958, when British influence in the region began to wane.

"On July 14 of that year, a popular, nationalist revolution in Iraq led by Abdel Karim Kassem overthrew the Hashemite monarchy, which had been installed by the British in 1921. The new government helped foind the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which was formed in 1960 to resist the power of Western oil monopolies.

"Kassem said: 'We are not combating the oil companies for another 7 million dinars a year. We are fighting for the industrialization of our republic and an end to our dependence on the sale of crude oil.'(3)

"Kassem challenged the absolute stranglehold Western oil companies then held on the marketing of Arb oil.

"Washington had little tolerance for this challenge to its long-standing intention to succeed colonial Britain and France as the dominant power in the Middle East.

"Ever since, the United States has planned to weaken Iraq and control its oil.

"Shortly after the 1958 revolution, the CIA formed a 'health alterations committee' to plot Kassem's assassination.

"At the same time, U.S. generals in Turkey devised a military plan, code-named Canonbone, for invading northern Iraq and seizing the oil fields there (4).

"In 1963, Kassem and thousands of his supporters were massacred in a bloody CIA-backed coup."

Most Americans probably don't know or care about how Saddam and his party came to power, and many Iraqis can't forget or forgive.

The Fire This Time - U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf. Book by Ramsey Clark - Radio Islam

My only problem with your post is that we went into Iraq, spent years doing whatever, and then we ended up not bothering with any of their oil. China is who's benefiting from Iraq's oil right now.

That underlines GOP incompetence.
 
The far left will do their best to make sure Iraq is a failure.

Iraq became a failure when Republicans did nothing to stop the slaughter of Christians, and waved goodbye as most of the rest left their homeland.
 
The far left will do their best to make sure Iraq is a failure.

Iraq became a failure when Republicans did nothing to stop the slaughter of Christians, and waved goodbye as most of the rest left their homeland.

More proof that the far left will do what ever it takes to make Iraq a failure and all for political purposes.

Typical propaganda from a far right reince priebus drone
 
The far left will do their best to make sure Iraq is a failure.

Iraq became a failure when Republicans did nothing to stop the slaughter of Christians, and waved goodbye as most of the rest left their homeland.

More proof that the far left will do what ever it takes to make Iraq a failure and all for political purposes.

Republicans were in charge of both houses, the presidency and the Supreme Court. So how is it the Democrats "fault"?:eusa_whistle:
 
The far left will do their best to make sure Iraq is a failure.
IMHO, it's not about "left" or "right" or "Republican" or "Democrat" as much as it's about the money to be made from endless war and the eternal debt that's required to pay for the conflicts.

I also think you should consider how those who profit from war and private debt define "failure" in Iraq.

By their standards, the US invasion of Iraq, supported by most Rs & Ds alike has succeeded in dividing Iraq into three sub-states. A Sh'ia enclave aligned with Iran with a Baghdad citi-state and Sunni Iraq alongside Syria.

The goal of elites in both major US parties is to redraw the borders of a New Middle East by deliberately creating an "arc of instability stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea.

Until US voters elect politicians who find ways to make peace more profitable than war, "failures" like Iraq will multiply, regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans launch them.
 
This thread openly carries a strong Anti-USA theme to it as if we were the only ones with eyes on Iraq and the Middle East in general.

Let's set the record straight - A lot of nations have had their eyes on this region before, during, and after WWI! Colonization created nations with false boundaries based upon European standards that had no similarity to religious and cultural differences. And, most of it was done WITHOUT US input. And yes, AFTER WWI, we became involved because there appeared to be threats to our national security. Was that effort correct? That's a matter of debate that will take another century to answer.
 
This thread openly carries a strong Anti-USA theme to it as if we were the only ones with eyes on Iraq and the Middle East in general.

Let's set the record straight - A lot of nations have had their eyes on this region before, during, and after WWI! Colonization created nations with false boundaries based upon European standards that had no similarity to religious and cultural differences. And, most of it was done WITHOUT US input. And yes, AFTER WWI, we became involved because there appeared to be threats to our national security. Was that effort correct? That's a matter of debate that will take another century to answer.
Do you disagree with the following?

"In 1990, for instance, during the first Gulf War, George H.W. Bush, called on the people of Iraq to rise up and overthrow Saddam Hussein. But when they finally did, after Saddam’s forces were driven from Kuwait, President Bush refused any gesture of support, even permitted Saddam’s pilots to keep flying their deadly helicopter gunships. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were slaughtered."

The American Legacy in Iraq » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
 

New Topics

Forum List

Back
Top