The occupation is doomed in Iraq because whole countries cannot, short of the complete annihilation of their societies, be seized, bought or traded, writes Abdul-Ilah Al-Bayaty* Throughout the history of the Iraqi patriotic movement, since the 1920s until now, it has been clear that the main criterion for true patriotism was to confront the "hegemony" of foreign powers in Iraq. Iraq's nationalisation of its oil wealth, and its success in investing oil revenues in economic development and infrastructure projects, has demonstrated Iraq's ability to build its own cadre for the proper administration of oil industries, and then make the ultimate end of such industry serving the interests of Iraq. Even when expertise, capital or any sort of foreign assistance was required, Iraq could get it through contracting and cooperation. It has always insisted there is no justification for rendering ownership of its oil fields to any other party but the state. The fate of Iraqi oil is vital for Iraq's future, and no government can survive -- unless it enlists the help of foreign armies -- if it accepts to put Iraq's oil in the hands of foreign parties. Iraq is well aware of that fact, and it will never concede sovereignty over its territory or resources. All international laws support Iraq in this regard. The Iraqis as a society are opposing the United States' strategy of dividing Iraq through the so-called political process and draft constitution. Beside controlling and plundering the natural resources of Iraq, the United States' plan consisted in abolishing the concept of citizenship -- the basis of any modern state. It annulled sovereignty, destroyed heritage and memory, and took over Iraqi wealth in an attempt to divide the country and destroy its Arab and Islamic geopolitical and civilisation-based affiliations. The occupation has tried, and continues to try, to replace Iraq by a subordinate state based on ethnicity and sectarian identity: a state of parties, lineages and religious references rather than a state of equal and free citizens. By dividing the state into three or more weak and conflicting entities according to the virtual lines of blood and sectarianism, the US, in reality, draws a map corresponding to the occupation's own interests in oil. This programmed division necessitated the abolition of the Iraqi state; the dismantling of its apparatus and institutions and an ongoing plan of privatisation of state-owned industries, buildings, lands and services. While it is true that this policy creates local corrupted individuals, feudalisms and warlords who profit from the occupation, society itself -- especially the marginalised and impoverished, educated middle classes, the working classes, which lost the benefit of state large services, and the youth, which suffers from unemployment and the absence of civil liberties -- reject US policy in Iraq. This will be the source of the never-ending social struggle against the occupation and eventually its defeat, and the defeat of its policies. The United States established a collision course confrontation with Iraqi society when it liquidated the Iraqi state, destroying its accomplishments and erasing its memory. It was oblivious to the simple truth that society is not just a political movement that can be conquered, or a number of individuals who may be apprehended, bribed or even killed. It is all the living people in a given country. Like other live societies, Iraqi society possesses huge capabilities -- a sophisticated legacy, ancient civilisations and an experienced patriotic movement. American strategists, while building their model for Iraq, missed or disregarded the fact that social movements are based on solid realities and lived experience, and cannot just be created on the whim of a political decision or through insidious forms of pressure. The Iraqis' experience of US policies explains the failure of the occupation forces in controlling Iraqi society through ethnic intrigue and repressive measures. Indeed, all the geopolitical dons in Iraq stand fast against ethnic and racial sensitivities, and against American imperialist plans in Iraq. If Iraqis now share any social attitude towards the US, it derives from their painful experience with the siege the US imposed on them through the UN for 13 years, and the destruction the American invasion caused to their country. Iraqi society has a wide civil, cultural and political heritage that enables it to unite against any reactionary imperialistic plan that seeks to take Iraq back to the Age of Darkness, with its attendant feudal systems and religious and ethnic bourgeoisie. Since the very day the occupation forces came to Iraq and the Iraqi state collapsed, there has been an uprising by all Iraqi movements and organisations; including those defending women, or unemployed youth, human rights organisations, trade unions, professional syndicates, agencies defending environmental issues and the rights of prisoners, and all other cultural and political organisations, side-by-side with provincial and tribal communities and peaceful and armed resistance groups. They have all risen following an unwritten political agenda that symbolises the whole society and derives its legitimacy from the deep sense of belonging to Arab and Islamic tenets. Geographically, historically, culturally and strategically, Iraq belongs to its Arab-Muslim context. This affiliation is neither ethnic nor religious, but rather cultural and geopolitical. The Arab-Islamic attitude is deeply rooted in the conscience and soul of every Iraqi citizen, regardless of ideology. Such an attitude reflects a mutual language and a joint political project for all Iraqis -- especially members of nationalist, Islamist and leftist groups. They all share the same principles, as follows. First, our natural resources, our material heritage, and the riches of our culture and civilisation are the property of the totality of the Iraqi people in all its successive generations, both past and future. Ownership of this wealth, whether in whole or in part, cannot be alienated by any public or private entity. Second, the general interest and public services are the justification and basis for the operation of the state. It is forbidden to use the state apparatus, or its institutions, for personal or sectarian ends. Finally, responsibility for security, defence, justice, health, education, communication, water, energy and all major public services, including the management of public finances, natural resources and the country's material and cultural heritage, belongs to the state. Every citizen has the right to enjoy these services, free of any form of discrimination. The Iraqi state should therefore adopt the following principles. The totality of the citizens constitutes the people of Iraq. The people are the sole source of sovereignty and of constitutional, political and judicial legitimacy. The government is responsible and accountable to all citizens. Solidarity between citizens -- between generations, between the different territories making up the country, and with the elderly, the ill, children and orphans, those in need, and every human being who finds himself in a state of weakness -- should form the basis of the Iraqi government's social policy. As a point of fact, Iraq's commitment to its Arab and Islamic identity is not only a shield that protects Iraqi society from the claws of foreign business, but also a catalyst that pushes Iraqi society to the fore of the progressive social movement growing all over the world which opposes neoliberal globalisation and American imperial plans. Such a movement advocates building a new world that would be more humane than the contemporary world characterised by barbarism and flagrant abuses of power that crush the weak and the needy, destroy the environment, create wars and unemployment, and devour our civil and political liberties. It has been evident enough for everyone that American strategy in this region is one link in a long chain of imperialist design for various parts of the world, all aimed at similar targets and using similar justifications to tread upon others. Yet, American imperialist hegemony that defends the free movement of capital over the freedom of people, grasps to command the natural wealth of other countries, raising the banner of the market economy, is being increasingly exposed and opposed by all peoples of the world. Opposition to American imperialism has spread even in developed countries; it is no longer a theoretical idea, but a reality, simply because it results in more poverty for the poor and more wealth for the rich while leaving the middle class completely marginalised, even inside the US itself. No one believes anymore in the neoliberal propaganda that "capital has no home" and that its unfettered passage through the portals of the global economy would bring about progress and development, and create more liberties leading to stability and justice. The United States has no doubt achieved great progress through the democratic model it adopted on its territory. We don't contest this. Even we do not refuse to be members of the world's "one village" of which they are speaking. We are ready to exchange culture, ideas, goods, techniques, persons, to achieve mutual understanding and development. Yet, the Iraqis and their social movements stand fast in the shadow of American imperial efforts which would only lead to more destruction and ruin for them. People around the world who care for justice and hope for a more human and humane world, should support the Iraqis in their struggle to recover their sovereignty, and ask for the complete and unconditional withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraqi soil along with compensation paid for all the material and human losses Iraq has experienced since the illegal invasion began. * The writer is an Iraqi political analyst based in France.
