Jon's Soapbox
Neocon Politics and NeoLiberal Economics - Nation Building in Iraq
(Posted 3/29/06) - The American Street would say our problems in Iraq stem from an Islamic Insurgency fomented by nationalism and a clash of cultures. There is another view however, and it is based soley on the economics of poverty dynamics administered by the US run Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority.
Read what Michael Schwartz, Professor of Sociology and Faculty Director of the Undergraduate College of Global Studies at Stony Brook University, has written about the US led dismantling of the Iraq economy. We are now witnessing the fruits of the most accelerated attempt in history at privitizing a national economy.
We constantly hear about Islamic Fundamentalsm and its archaic views on social interactions. We hear about prejudices, about cultural intolerances that result in massacres and the killing of innocents. We are torn by the 'crazy ways' of the Iraqi Muslim sects portrayed in the news.
What we don't hear is that the unemployment rate in Iraq is greater than in the US's great depression (some estimates indicate the majority of Iraqi workers are unemployed).
What we don't hear is that this environment was the direct result of the US intervention in Iraq! We instituted and executed the economic dismantling of all Iraqi government social services under the auspices of the Coalition Provisional Authority. The result was a loss of income and jobs for a majority of Iraqi's and cascading bankruptcies of local businesses.
A Neo-conservative political agenda (bringing democracy to the Arabian Peninsula) targetted Iraq. But perhaps it was the Neo-liberal economic policy of the Bush Administration that has resulted in the pain and misery that we all see there today. Neo-libralism is an economic term with which most Americans are unfamiliar. A definition is provided here.
Read the linked article below for a completely different perspective on root-causes for insurrection and anti-occupation feelings: It's an eye opener for those of us who think capitalism comes in only one flavor; and its always sweet. Click Here for Article.