IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS
Description
This useful book describes the effects of the US-British occupation of Iraq. Iraq's economy and society are in ruins. The authowrite, "The informal economy, corruption in government ministries, lax controls over contractors, preferential treatment for US based transnational, the insurgency, compensation and debt are combining in crippling fashion."
The occupation has promoted sectarian strife. The US has been "playing off the centre against the periphery, playing off political parties against tribes and other embedded leade... the outcome has been a lack of a truly national, integrative political process which subordinates the local." In sum, "The fragmentary nature of the Iraqi state, partial as a mechanism of order and weak as a service provider, has been instrumental in the alignment of populations with groups rooted in principles specific to a sect."
The occupation relies on coercion not consent. "In circumstances in which a sizeable portion of the population rejects a form of rule, military doctrine provides a strong predisposition for US personnel to respond to the expression of popular grievances, peaceful dissent and armed opposition with repressive measures. The US and Britain have a long history of engaging in counter-insurgency for repressive purposes, either directly or in conjunction with military, paramilitary and militia forces in other states. Central aspects of the conduct of the US and those it has backed in Iraq - such as imprisonment without due process, disappearances, torture, impunity and indiscriminate use of force - are characteristic of the coercive counter-insurgency it has been involved with in places such as Vietnam, Central America, Colombia and Afghanistan."
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Book Details
- ISBN: 1850657777
- Categories:
- Format: Hardback
- Publication Date: 2006
- Number of Pages: 354
- Author:
- Publisher: HURST CO
- Language: English
- Weight: 0.5 g
