by Sandy » Wed May 27, 2015 12:23 pm
I don't believe there was ever any intention of bringing the ideas of liberty and democracy to Iraq. From the information that has been leaked out regarding the Bush administration's planning for the Iraq invasion prior to 9-11, the intention was to militarily occupy the country indefinitely. Greg Palast, writing for the BBC, is probably the best expert on "war for oil" and that's his general assessment.
There are lots of local interests involved which contribute to the problems. The most logical solution, which satisfies the American concept of "self determination" that was originally set down for the region in Wilson's fourteen points at the end of WW1, would be to create countries that have common cultural, language and religious heritages. You'd have the Baghdad region under Shi'ite control, the eastern provinces under Sunni control, and an independent Kurdistan in the north. Of course, US ally Turkey wouldn't stand for an independent Kurdish state, and Israel would never go along with an independent Sunni state. And then there's the problem of a Shi'ite controlled state bordering Iran. The only people whose interests would be served in such a way are those who live there, and when have they ever counted in the decision making process?