You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
IRAQ TODAY<br />
Unease in the Middle East:<br />
Iraq’s political crisis explained<br />
BY CAL ABBO<br />
Muqtada al-Sadr<br />
Iraq is in the midst of its worst political<br />
crisis since the U.S. invasion in<br />
2003 and the execution of Saddam<br />
Hussein in 2006.<br />
The famous cleric and political figure<br />
Muqtada al-Sadr has disrupted the<br />
government for months now. It all began<br />
ten months ago, when Iraq elected<br />
a new parliament that was supposed<br />
to form a government. Al-Sadr’s bloc<br />
won a strong plurality of votes, but his<br />
political rivals refused to acknowledge<br />
his win and participate.<br />
In June, al-Sadr directed his entire<br />
bloc to resign from parliament, which<br />
resulted in 73 vacant seats that were<br />
filled in the interim mostly by an alliance<br />
of Iran-backed parties. Since the<br />
resignation and subsequent appointments,<br />
the country has been rocked<br />
by popular protests and calls for a new<br />
election by many in the Sadrist camp.<br />
This year in Iraq has been a particularly<br />
bad one with regard to the<br />
economy and standard of living. Iraq’s<br />
water supply, which is affected by the<br />
third consecutive year of drought, has<br />
also suffered at the hands of countries<br />
reducing water flow in the Tigris and<br />
Euphrates.<br />
Its power supply, which is notoriously<br />
problematic, has been affected<br />
by the intense summer heat and excessive<br />
demand. This summer is one of<br />
Iraq’s hottest on record.<br />
These issues are difficult to address<br />
for an interim parliament that<br />
is without an official government. In<br />
this political crisis, the parliament<br />
is limited in what it can do because<br />
Corruption is an<br />
extraordinary issue<br />
in Iraq. Almost daily<br />
it seems there is<br />
news about another<br />
corruption scandal<br />
having to do with the<br />
government.<br />
it first has to solve months-old disputes<br />
over the election.<br />
Protests have also penetrated<br />
inside the Green Zone, the district<br />
where most government business<br />
PHOTO BY THOMAS KOCH<br />
in Baghdad is conducted. The protestors,<br />
who are part of the Sadrist<br />
movement, continue to emphasize<br />
they are fighting against corruption<br />
and to help the poorer districts in<br />
Iraq that are struggling with food<br />
and water.<br />
Corruption is an extraordinary issue<br />
in Iraq. Almost daily it seems there<br />
is news about another corruption<br />
scandal having to do with the government.<br />
Those in al-Sadr’s camp claim<br />
to be firmly opposed to corruption and<br />
there are some reforms in the movement’s<br />
platform that would reduce it.<br />
On the other hand, while many political<br />
figures have promised to remedy<br />
the problem, little has changed in the<br />
last two decades.<br />
The former president of Iraq, Barham<br />
Salih, said in 2021 that $150 billion<br />
of oil money had been stolen<br />
and smuggled out of Iraq since the<br />
U.S. invasion in 2003. Among political<br />
analysts, Iraq is surely considered<br />
one of the most corrupt countries on<br />
the planet. Petty corruption, which<br />
involves low-level administrators taking<br />
small bribes, is almost expected<br />
in certain aspects of the public-facing<br />
government.<br />
In June, Iraq’s anti-corruption<br />
commission exposed a massive scandal<br />
in which 41 people misappropriated<br />
nearly $700 million in public<br />
funds through forgery, embezzlement,<br />
manipulation, and money laundering.<br />
Iraq’s economy relies heavily on cash,<br />
which has made this type of corruption<br />
simple and low risk.<br />
In addition, earlier in August,<br />
Iraq’s finance minister Ali Allawi announced<br />
his resignation from political<br />
office. This decision, he said in a letter,<br />
is the direct result of the political<br />
crisis. The government, his letter said,<br />
has made exceptional achievements<br />
regarding development and progress.<br />
The current situation, however, leaves<br />
the government “shackled by a power<br />
struggle.”<br />
14 CHALDEAN NEWS <strong>SEPTEMBER</strong> <strong>2022</strong>