Progressive
policy critics and moderate government insiders have long cautioned against a
sustained American presence in the
Middle East. American encroachment, they warn, radicalizes young Muslim fundamentalists and
substantiates Bin Laden’s message of religious Jihad.
Administration
officials dismiss these critics publicly (although rare words of candor do
sometimes escape—CIA Chief Goss admitted that the Iraqi invasion has made
America
less safe) but concede their points privately. Ambitions of
U.S.
hegemony and supremacy however supersede security concerns. Ideological
ambition to “maintain a lock on the world’s energy lifeline and potentially
deny access to its global competitors” (like
China
) is priority number one for American policy makers. Control and access can be
maintained in two ways—military and economically.
Great historical precedent lies with
the former. A cursory examination of policy papers reveals that
America
’s thirst for influence and resources transcends party lines. President Jimmy
Carter’s 1980 doctrine set the modern day precedent. “Let
our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain
control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an
assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be
repelled by any means necessary, including military force.”
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The
current Bush administration has pushed this American foreign policy paradigm to
its logical conclusion. Since the
Persian Gulf
holds two of every three barrels of world oil, sustained American presence and
control of
Iraq
guarantees
U.S.
supremacy. This pronouncement is not just the conspiratorial claim of a liberal
columnist; it is mirrored by the official National
Defense Strategy of the United States of America report,
released last month by the Defense Department.“Our role in the
world depends on effectively projecting and sustaining our forces in distant
environments where adversaries may seek to deny
U.S.
access.”
American
access to
Iraq
is currently under construction. The Chicago Tribune reported last year that
“
U.S.
engineers are focusing on constructing 14 ‘enduring,’ long-term
encampments… the bases… would be key outposts for Bush administration policy
advisers.” Army Brig. Gen Robert Pollman has described the bases as
compensation for the
U.S.
reduction of forces in
Saudi Arabia
and thus far the
U.S.
military has spent some $4.5 billion on base construction and maintenance.
Meanwhile,
“the Pentagon has made no formal request to establish permanent
installations” in
Iraq
. For a president who espouses proclamations of freedom and democracy, this
un-consented use of Iraqi land is politically understandable but morally
unsound. Even so, Democracy has been cheapened into propaganda—publicly
exploited in times of political convenience but undermined when the will of
Iraqis clashes with American policy objectives.
America
’s economic influence is similarly problematic. Instead of declaring
Saddam’s debt odious and dismissing it outright, the Paris Club, a group of
industrialized credit nations, agreed to a three-year 80 percent debt write off.
The problem is in the details. The fine print requires
Iraq
to re arrange its economy to accommodate specified ‘structural
adjustments.’ But changes that guarantee maximum foreign investment
opportunities for large multinational corporations come at the cost of
undercutting public subsidies for Iraqis.
In
September of 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved an Emergency
Post-Conflict Assistance loan to
Iraq
. The loan laid “the groundwork for the development of a reform program… and
the implementation of key structural reforms to
transform Iraq into a market economy.” This will limit the new
Iraqi government to providing only “the minimum adequate level of social
support” while focusing on “implementing key structural reforms… [such
as]…restructuring of state-owned enterprises.”
Privatization
of resources and reduction of government services could
force Iraqi leaders to abolish the public food subsidy system that kept millions
out of starvation during the U.S. /U.K. sanctions. A study
by the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) found that “many more Iraqis would have
died if not for a strong subsidies system that gave food rations to Iraqi
families.”
The
IMF discourages this kind of social welfare. Iraq will be required to increase foreign investment and
sell its government enterprises. Neo-liberal, free trade economic policies,
packaged as ‘structural adjustments’, are required medicine for debtor
nations. Long pulled off the shelves in most industrialized societies, this
bitter medicine is reserved for the underprivileged. Adjustments are sold and
marketed as majestic cure-all antibiotics; yet their toxicity has been widely
acknowledged.
This
too is confirmed by official IMF documentation. A March 2024 IMF study titled, Effects
of Financial Globalization on Developing countries: Some Empirical Evidence
concluded that “there is no proof in the data that financial globalization has
benefited [economic] growth.” Instead the opposite was found to be true. “A
number of countries have experienced periodic collapse in growth rates,” after
IMF ‘structural adjustment’ policies were adopted.
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That
this is recognized by the donor nations and considered insignificant is
startling. Economic assistance then, has little to do with the empowerment of
the disadvantaged. Instead, these institutions are used to further the tacitly
stated policy objectives of industrial powers. Whereas a physical military
presence ensures direct influence, so-called economic aid encourages the rise of
local financial elites and broad economic inequalities. Both are meant to exert
American influence and relegate Iraqi sovereignty. Jihadist fears are realized
and American security is compromised.
Igor
Volsky is the host of the Luske-Volsky Show (with Dr. Bruce Luske) and Political
Thought, two public affairs programs airing every Monday and Friday from
4-6 p.m.
on WMAR 1630AM. Both shows can be streamed at www.politicalthought.net.
Igor can be reached at Igor.Volsky@marist.edu
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