So in essence a weak, malleable central government, the powerful dominance of a few clerics, and a huge foreign force, unwelcome and hated on the ground have all helped to create a lawless climate in Iraq where the streets have been transformed into battle zones; where armed fanatical groups engage in every kind of mayhem and barbarity imaginable and a suffering populace feels trapped by a force that came as liberators and another that wants to kill the liberators.
Indeed, four years into the US occupation of Iraq all the grandiose, pompous promises made by US politicians led by President Bush barely amounts to a hill of beans. The reality in today’s Iraq is that the United States’ invasion and occupation has replaced the tyrant Saddam Hussein with the tyranny and brutality of a group of murderous fanatics masquerading under the flag of Islam.
Iraqis are a proud people with a long history of learning and civilization. The American invasion and occupation has humiliated them. America decided that it was morally and better equipped to run Iraq than Saddam Hussein and the Baath party. So in “racing to Baghdad” we “shocked and awed” the world. President Bush donned fighter pilot fatigues and declared “Mission Accomplished.” Four years later the only mission that has been accomplished is that America and President Bush removed Saddam Hussein but also took away Iraqi pride and self respect. Iraq is a nation where its people are held captive and in bondage by a new boss – the American Armed Forces.
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