The aim behind today’s talk is to highlight some elements of the war in Iraq that seem to be overlooked in every-day discussions. I decided to call my presentation ‘the Struggle for Iraq’ to highlight the unmistakable truth that there exist many factions vying for control over Iraq and its people, and unless and until we acknowledge this fact and understand its nuances, the way forward shall remain unattainable.

However, before tackling, or at least attempting to tackle, the complex question of conflicting politics, I believe it is vital to highlight some elements of Iraq’s history to help us understand Iraq today. In following the political developments in this country and the role of the media, I have noted a lack of acknowledgement of the past, not to mention the very recent past, and its ramifications on current day events. Iraq and it’s people, with their conflicts, mistrust and psyche, did not simply come about overnight … what we witness today is the unfortunate consequence of many a lost opportunity, ill-preparedness, lack of leadership, too many regional players, not to mention decades of a despotic rule.

During the 1st World War, Iraq was occupied by British troops thus signaling the beginning of British colonialism which lasted until 1932 when the Iraqi monarchy became formally independent. In 1958, a group of officers assassinated the then King of Iraq (King Faisal) in a bloody coup that marked the beginning of Iraq’s recent bloody history. The Republic of Iraq was then established and following a number of coups, Saddam Hussein came into power in 1979 (in 1963, Ba’ath coup by General Abdul Salem Aref, in 1968 another coup was directed by Al-Bakr). Just one year later, Saddam initiated an eight-year war with Iran, a war that was supported and backed by the US and most Arab countries. During that war, Saddam carried out an Arabization campaign by expelling thousands of Kurds and Turkemen from the Kurdish region in the North and replacing them with Arabs from the South, as well as dumping thousands of Arab Shi’ites on the Iranian border for allegedly being of Iranian origin. In 1988 he retaliated against the Kurds, who were long-time adversaries, by using chemical weapons in Halabcha, killing thousands of people and forcing others to relocate (an incident that was little heard of in Western and Arab media until the case for the 1st Gulf War, three years later, was being made). That same year, the Iran-Iraq war ended in a stalemate, with 1.5 million people estimated dead on both sides. In 1990, with the country still recovering from the economic ramifications of an eight-year war, Saddam’s troops invaded Kuwait. Six months later, the first Gulf War was waged, liberating Kuwait, whilst the UN imposed economic sanctions on Iraq. Immediately after the US declared a ceasefire, Shi’ites in the South of Iraq and Kurds in the North rebelled against Saddam’s regime with what was seen as encouragement from the American administration. The rebellion was squashed by Saddam whilst mercilessly killing thousands, and for months following the uprising, Saddam’s regime carried out a cleansing campaign against thousands of young Iraqi Shiite men. Immediately after the US declared a cease fire, a no-fly-zone was set up in the North of Iraq to protect the Kurds, whilst almost a year and a half later and after completion of the cleansing campaign, a no-fly zone was declared in the South to protect the Shiites (August 1992). Such no-fly zone however did not protect the Shi’ites in 1994 when Saddam drained the marshes in Southern Iraq, which are said to be the oldest civilization on earth. The drained marshlands, now converted to desert, were easier to attack so as to eradicate any opposition. Thousands were killed and thousands more became refugees on the Iranian border. On March 20th 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom was launched by the US, following which is recent history.

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