10 Years Later: Iraq & Kuwait

Image source:AFP

I've noticed quite a lot of hype over the Western Media about the 10th Anniversary of the US-led Invasion of Iraq (and Arab media, who of course copy-and-paste all current events from the Western Media, as they usually do!).

"U.S.-Led Invasion"! Think about it....

On a couple of occasions, I've watched and heard the Western journalists that interviewed Iraqis who would claim that Iraq, during Saddam's time, was actually safer and more modern than it is today, and that during his time, a walk to the local grocery store wouldn't be overshadowed by the danger of a drive-by shooting or an exploding car by a fanatic group or something. The segment would sometimes even end with the commenter's somber voice over the sobs and whimpers of a recently-widowed woman, or a recently orphaned little girl, and touching the audience's hearts and emotions. 

"Ten years on", a reporter would continue, "and the Iraqis still feel unsafe in their own homes and streets. People and property blowing up in the background is now a daily fact of their lives."

Boo Hoo!!

The international media is now coming all-out and publicly asking whether the leaders of the US and UK back in 2002-2003 should be reprimanded for mishandling their invasion of Iraq, for lying to the public about the reason behind going to war, and so on and on and on. My admittedly biased opinion is this: Iraq lied and invaded Kuwait, so the US and the UK lied and invaded Iraq! 

Shit happens, deal with it, and do it without naming Kuwait as a belligerent in your struggles!

I may sound slightly hard and a touch insensitive, but I can't help it, I'm a victim of Iraq's crimes in Kuwait. I repeat that last statement, with full fervor and a complete grasp of sound, sensible mind; I am a victim of IRAQ'S crimes in Kuwait. No cowardly statements in this blog, like this "Saddamist Invasion" crap!

Any by the way, I do not, and will never accept - nor acknowledge - the use of any other diplomatic or watered-down term other than that. When it sounds like a duck, walks like a duck and looks like a duck, you'd call it nothing but a duck!

Not only was it an invasion, but It was also an Occupation, an Annexation and an attempted Annihilation of Kuwait, and it was sourced from Iraq, by Iraqi soldiers, led by Iraqi officers, commanded by a pathetic Iraqi dictator, come what may, and say what you want to say! This isn't ancient history either, nor was it in any way erased from living memory (thank God for VCR and the old reliable paper and pen!!)

Back to my point. As I said, I'm a victim of Iraq's crimes in Kuwait. I was just shy of 16 years old when Iraq invaded on August 2nd 1990. And since then, I've had a hard time dealing with anything even remotely associated with Iraq, including music, two people speaking with an Iraqi accent, even a Kuwaiti using Iraqi terms, like "Welak"!

Judge me, if you want, but that's how I feel, and I'm not the least bit ashamed of it! However, acknowledging that the curse of Geography won't ever go away, I admit that my future, and that of my country is forever entwined with that of Iraq, and I'd be a fool to believe otherwise. Obviously, I'm willing to accept the fact that Kuwait had to open up to Iraq diplomatically and economically, and that the economic stability of the entire region depends - in one way or another - on the stability of relations between Iraq and Kuwait. It makes economic sense that Kuwait plays the role of a major trading gateway for Iraqi goods travelling to and from the rest of the world.

Personally, I just can't bring myself to accept it! I have become so desensitized about anything related to Iraq being an ally, a friend, or even a partner of Kuwait, that I even rejected the image of an Iraqi Airways passenger jet on a Kuwaiti tarmac back in February. I was telling myself, and those around me, that this is not the new Iraq, and that the only new Iraq is one that advances Kuwait's rights on a negotiating table without being coerced nor reminded to do so. My feelings were vindicated when, just two weeks later, a war of words brewed up between Iraq and Kuwait over an old border dispute. That, if anything, proves that Iraq will never be a true friend of Kuwait, so why the hell are we trying so hard to convince them otherwise?

Iraqis blame us Kuwaitis for the US-led invasion and being stuck under UN Chapter 7, and rightly so. That's fine by me! It happened, even though we were lied to about it's justification, we supported it at the time, and we were clear as to the consequences of our actions and decisions - both were towards the removal of a tyrant and the rebirth of a new, free and prosperous Iraq.

I reiterate, we were lied to. Ten years later, it turns out that the Invasion of Iraq was a big conspiracy, and that the entire case for invading Iraq was totally baseless. My question is; Who'se to blame for that? Was Kuwait implicit in the conspiracy or in the events that it created? Did Kuwait conspire to topple the regime in Iraq or did it adhere to it's security agreements - that it was forced to sign to begin with! - as a result of the Iraqi Invasion & Occupation in 1990-1991?

Within this context, isn't Kuwait as much a victim of this conspiracy as Iraq is? Are there any Western journalists in Kuwait making interviews and asking for opinion about the US invasion of 2003 in light of the recent revelations? Has any one of them actually paid attention to Kuwait's economic and social state of affairs since that invasion? Has anyone inquired as to what Kuwait did (and still does) for all the refugees that flooded Kuwait as a result of that invasion? Has anyone asked what those refugees did in return??

10 years of death and destruction in Iraq are the result of 30+ years of a tyrannical psychopathic dictatorship over a helpless population of schisms & hypocrisies, and not the machinations of a tiny Oil-rich state whose Government's sole concern in life is to sell oil and keep it's spoilt population happy!