Iraq Study Group Report

The Iraq Study Group's report on future US policy in Iraq came out today.

The US aim in Iraq was to set up permanent military bases and a dependent client state at the heart of the world's energy producing regions, and to then enjoy the resulting step-change in strategic power over its rivals.

Millions of us opposed the US-UK invasion and oppose the occupation now, not because it was a "tragic mistake", "a miscalculation", or because "they didn't have an adequate plan post-invasion". We opposed it because invading another country to impose your will upon it, and to enhance your ability to impose your will on others, is immoral in the most fundamental sense. It is a direct contradiction of every principle of liberalism and democracy that the west imagines it stands for.

So while the political class gazes in awe at the blue-ribbon study group's findings, ready to praise the grandees and their sensible views etc etc, remember one thing - this is a change in imperial tactics and nothing else.

I've yet to read the report, so let me test my analysis by first taking a wild guess (tell me if I'm wrong) and predicting that there will be no mention, none, of a total withdrawal of all troops and an abandonment of all bases in Iraq - which is what 90%+ of the "democratised" Iraqis want. We don't hear much about what Iraqis want, but when it comes to their country, what they want is the beginning and the end of relevant discussion. The rest is nothing but an admission that we have no interest in, nor any understanding of democracy whatsoever.

Now we can talk about tactics all we like. We can criticise the manager of a football team, Wehrmacht generals can quibble over whose fault it was that Operation Barbarossa failed, but if we want to raise ourselves above that level and actually take responsibility for the bloodbath we've created in Iraq then we're going to have to look someway beyond the likes of James Baker.