A strange paradox on the 21st anniversary of the overthrow of Saddam... from individual rule to party dictatorship
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]A bird's-eye view of Al-Firdaws Square 21 years after the fall of Saddam
2024-04-09 02:51
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Shafaq News/ Today, Tuesday, April 9, 2024, marks the twenty-first anniversary of the fall of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime, less than three weeks after the American-British invasion of Iraq to get rid of dictatorship and replace it with the democracy that was promised.
On this day, Iraqis remember the scenes of the entry of American forces into the heart of the capital, Baghdad, after then US President George W. Bush announced, on March 20, 2003, the launch of an operation he called “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
Three weeks later, Saddam appeared on April 9, walking around the Adhamiya area in Baghdad, surrounded by dozens of Iraqis cheering for him, hours before the fall of Baghdad and his regime. After that, he disappeared for eight months before the American army found him, tried him, and then executed him in December. 2006.
But the Western irony is that what happened - according to observers - is that the dictatorship of the individual was replaced by the dictatorship of parties, and this is no less dangerous than the first, which returned the country to being “a hotbed of threats to international peace and security” as it was before 2003.
Black nightmare
The leader of the State of Law coalition, Sheikh Haider Al-Lami, describes the era of Saddam Hussein as the “black nightmare” that was upon Iraq and the region. “The Iraqi people, as well as the peoples of the region, lived in apprehension about what he was doing, not only in torturing people, but also in torturing the earth.” By burning and bulldozing farms in the city of Balad in 1982, which was considered fertile agricultural land and a food basket for the Iraqis.”
Al-Lami added while speaking to Shafaq News Agency, “He also burned the lands of Basra and Hilla during the Shaabaniya uprising in 1991, and burned many palm trees and their rare species that were only found in Iraq. He also bulldozed many cities and dried up the marshes from 1991 to 1994 until this body of water became empty.” One of the rare birds that used to come to him during their migration.
He continues, "He also polluted the environment by using chemical weapons against the Kurds in the city of Halabja on March 16, 1988, and this pollution continued for many years. He also used this weapon against the Islamic Republic during the war period 1980-1988."
Al-Lami confirms, “Saddam killed millions of Iraqis physically and psychologically, and every person was at risk of being killed or arrested. He killed at least 40 Grand Ayatollahs from the scholars of Najaf, Karbala, Kadhimiya, and Samarra, and many of their students, and he also killed scholarly families from the House of Al-Hakim.” And the house of the Al-Mubarqa’ family, the house of the Bahr Al-Ulum family, and others.”
Al-Lami continues, “Saddam also deported many prominent scholars who were studying Jaafari Shiite jurisprudence in Iraq from the Islamic Republic, as well as Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians.”
"In 1996, hundreds of thousands of children were killed by injecting them with substances into hospitals in order to lift the siege on the country, and there are many new crimes that are discovered from time to time regarding that era, so no one can come to equal Saddam with his level of crime and killing of the Iraqi people." Al-Lami says.
Al-Lami calls on the Ministries of Education and Higher Education to "create a curriculum to inform students about the crimes committed by this dictator, and to not forget those actions and to serve as an example for those who try to imitate his style of rule."
Liberation or occupation?
Although more than two decades have passed since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime by American forces, Iraqis still do not agree on whether what happened was a liberation that should be celebrated, or whether it was an occupation, and people usually do not celebrate the occasions of their occupation.
“The nature of the change that took place after 2003 differs in description by many political and religious forces. There are those who see it as liberation from the previous regime, and there are those who see it as occupation, and this vision remains a matter of controversy,” according to the professor of political science at Al-Mustansiriya University, Dr. Issam Al-Faili.
But what is striking - according to Al-Faili - is that some of the opposition forces that sought help from the United States to change the regime and that were also sponsoring their conferences, those forces returned after the invasion of Iraq to say that these are occupation forces and must be confronted, and the Kurds who did not raise arms against the American forces are excluded from this. But many Islamic forces and some Iraqis took up arms against the United States.
Al-Fili explained to Shafaq News Agency that this created an imbalance in the nature of the existing relationship between the American administration and Iraq, and discordant political trends began within the Iraqi political forces in the nature of dealing with the United States, while the latter is trying to understand the nature of the political system, is it close to the American fence or to Iranian fence?
“Although the first supporter of the beginning of the resistance to the Americans was from Iran, this does not prevent the presence of religious ideological forces that believe in the necessity of fighting the United States, but in terms of material and logistical support, it was Iran that provided support to the Sunni factions and Shiite forces to confront the United States,” according to Al-Faili.
Errors after 2003
Al-Faili points out that “in the years following 2003, many mistakes occurred, including that the political forces blamed the previous regime for saying it was an individual, dictatorial regime, but at the same time they did not succeed in creating an institutional system. Rather, they went with what is known as ( Quotas) and swallowed up state institutions, which created a major problem in Iraq, and even the independent bodies were not independent, but rather partisan bodies that were established on the basis of quotas.
He added, "It is also noted that there is repression by the parties of all their opponents through some of their armed arms that exert pressure on activists and those who disagree with them, and this was evident in the October 2019 uprising."
He continues, “What is striking is that after 2003, we found a democracy without democracy, that is, the form of the system is democratic, but the legislation adopted by the parties is to strengthen their presence, and they failed to create a real parliamentary system in which there is a government bloc and an opposition bloc, so we find that everyone is trying to ride along.” In the boat of power.
Al-Faili continues, “There is also a great waste of money and the nature of the capabilities entering, in addition to external interference, whether from neighboring countries or from beyond the neighboring countries, and this is clearly evident through the statements of political forces, some of which are originally formed outside Iraq.”
He explains, “Therefore, the scene in Iraq is confusing, and since 2003 until the present day, a national identity has not been formed in what is known as (the Iraqi nation), as there are political forces that promote the concept of the Shiite component, and opposite them are political forces that promote the concept of the Sunni component, and others for the concept of the Kurdish component.”
He asserts, "This is a real crisis, and it must all be dissolved into a comprehensive and comprehensive Iraqi identity for us in the face of this multiple mosaic, and whoever pays the price in the first place is Iraq with its great title, which requires reading the previous experience in a way that strengthens the formation of national identity."
He notes that “the political class in Iraq are partisans, not politicians, and the process of persecution of political figures is clear among them, and instead of the nights of Ramadan being nights of kindness and mercy, they have turned into nights of slander, insults, and cursing by many political forces, and bullying for the most trivial reasons, which gives the impression that we are “Until now, we have not risen to the level of managing a real state based on constructive dialogue.”
A leader obsessed with wars
“No one who is fair and who evaluates the period of the previous regime in principle and humanity disagrees that the period of the previous regime was a stage of harsh dictatorship in which the Iraqi people suffered from injustice and persecution. They were subject to the obsession of a crazy leader for leadership who wanted to be the leader of the nation, while the obsession with wars was... He controlled his behavior, and he was threatening regional and international security, so he was overthrown,” according to the strategic expert, Dr. Ahmed Al-Sharifi.
Al-Sharifi added in an interview with Shafaq News Agency, “But the Western irony is that we hoped that the principle adopted internationally to liberate Iraq would be a liberation from a political system to create an alternative system, but what happened was the replacement of the dictatorship of the individual with the dictatorship of parties.”
He asserts, “The dictatorship of parties is no less dangerous than the dictatorship of the individual, because it also led the country to become a focus of threat to international peace and security, as decisions were issued again and many repercussions occurred, including the defect that occurred in the management of state institutions from the entry of Al-Qaeda and then ISIS and others.” Then we arrive at the current situation we are in.”
“The overthrow of the dictatorial regime was a positive process, but it created a corrupt system coupled with employment for neighboring countries, which put the project at stake,” Al-Sharifi says.
He explains, “The current stage is the most dangerous stage in the political process, where the aversion and state of alienation of the political system and the political organization from the masses, and even under the government that is called the (service government), corruption, mismanagement, and falling into the arms of neighboring countries are still the prevailing scene in managing the phenomenon.” politics in Iraq.
He explains, “What happened was that democracy slogans were raised and were consumed in the media by these leaders, but the reality indicated something else. Iraq is still under the dictatorship of parties that do not believe in the democratic system or the peaceful transfer of power, and are willing to sell the country, just as they do not want to.” By establishing the foundations upon which democratic systems are based, a state of institutions, law, and social justice, we are now at a crossroads that may push us once again to internationalization.”
He continues, "The experience of change that was sponsored by international will and under the umbrella of international law is in danger, and this matter is sensed by the major powers, specifically the United States, which reads that the path has become very dangerous, especially in light of the reluctance to hold elections."
“The change was not in line with the slogan that was raised. There were hopes that the political will would be liberated from the dominance of dictatorship and tyranny, but what is unfortunate is that it continued under parties that are still clinging to power with mismanagement and corruption. What is more dangerous is making the country dependent on regional and international balances and conflicts. The country has once again returned to being a hotbed of threats to international peace and security,” according to Al-Sharifi.
The strategic expert explains, "The current security situation in Iraq is very dangerous, as a result of not adhering to the principle of separation of powers and the independence of institutions. The law guaranteeing the achievement of social justice among individuals does not exist, and the law regulating institutions is violated due to quotas."
He notes that "the most dangerous equation is that the institutions are still not independent, but rather linked to parties, and the parties have regional affiliations, and thus the institution has begun to violate all regulations and laws regulating the behavior of its members, starting from media discourse and ending with field performance."
He explains, “In democratic systems, opinions and visions may differ on the issue of state administration, but it is assumed that they are united in national constants and in the highest interest of the state. However, we find that at the level of foreign policy there is division, and there are those who carry weapons and have neither executive representation nor Legislatively, despite this, he talks about the fate of the country and drags it into a confrontation in a way as if everyone was following his will amid governmental silence.”
Al-Sharifi attributes the reason for this to the fact that “institutions cannot defend themselves and activate their role in silencing such practices, because the parties are stronger than the institution, and this destroys the most important foundation and basis in democratic systems, which is the independence of institutions and the supremacy of the law, and therefore we are facing a new dictatorship with the transition from Dictatorship of the individual to dictatorship of parties.
Al-Sharifi warns, “The next stage is very dangerous, and we may return, as we previously dragged the dictatorial regime, into an international confrontation that led to internationalization. We are on the cusp of the second internationalization, which is the failure of the experiment and the return of the international will to take international resolutions issued by the Security Council to carry out the process of radical and comprehensive change.”
“The strange irony is that Iraqi public opinion has once again adopted the option of radical and comprehensive change as an ambition to establish a rational state in which social justice is achieved and where rights prevail for individuals and groups and not for opportunistic parties and forces,” according to Al-Sharifi.
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