If U.S. foreign policy had a slogan, it might be something like: We’ll destroy your village to save it. Iraq is the ultimate example of this twisted logic—a nation reduced to rubble, its people brutalized, all in the name of “liberation.” In What Uncle Sam Really Wants, Chomsky described El Salvador as a crucifixion, where U.S.-backed death squads and scorched-earth policies murdered tens of thousands in the name of fighting communism. Fast forward to the 21st century, and Iraq is Exhibit A in the United States’ continued mission to bomb its way to "peace" while leaving chaos and corpses in its wake.
From the lies that justified the 2003 invasion to the horrors of Abu Ghraib, Iraq illustrates the brutal mechanics of U.S. imperialism. Beneath the rhetoric of democracy lies the reality: a laboratory of neoliberal exploitation, corporate profiteering, and systemic violence that has left Iraq devastated and the Middle East destabilised.
The Invasion: Shock, Awe, and the Big Lie
The 2003 invasion of Iraq didn’t begin with bombs—it began with lies. The Bush administration, led by war criminals masquerading as statesmen, sold the war to the public with fabricated tales of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and nonexistent links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. Everyone knew it was nonsense—Hans Blix and U.N. weapons inspectors, global intelligence agencies, even half the U.S. government—but it didn’t matter. When Washington wants a war, it gets one.
And what a war it was. The "shock and awe" campaign turned Baghdad into a fireball of terror, with bombs raining down on civilian neighborhoods to demonstrate the U.S.’s overwhelming power. Thousands of innocent people were killed in the opening days, but who cares about civilian casualties when you’re spreading democracy? Saddam Hussein’s regime collapsed, but so did Iraq’s infrastructure, government, and basic order. The U.S. replaced a dictator with a free-for-all of violence and chaos.
Occupation: The Great American Experiment
The occupation of Iraq wasn’t just a mess; it was a masterpiece of imperial arrogance and incompetence. The U.S. tore down Iraq’s institutions overnight, with Paul Bremer, the appointed viceroy of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), issuing decrees like a modern-day emperor. Bremer’s de-Ba’athification policy removed tens of thousands of civil servants, teachers, and military personnel—essentially dismantling the state. His decision to disband the Iraqi army was even worse, leaving 400,000 trained soldiers unemployed, yet armed. The insurgency didn’t just happen—it was invited.
Meanwhile, the country was turned into a neoliberal playground. U.S. corporations like Halliburton and Bechtel flooded in to rebuild what American bombs had destroyed, collecting billions in no-bid contracts while doing next to nothing for Iraqis. Electricity and water? Sporadic at best. Hospitals? Functioning only if you were lucky. But private contractors made a killing, quite literally in the case of Blackwater, whose mercenaries gunned down 17 unarmed Iraqis in the 2007 Nisour Square massacre.
Iraq wasn’t just occupied—it was gutted. A once-modern nation was reduced to rubble, its oil siphoned off by foreign corporations while its people were left to starve and suffer. Its antiquities looted and stolen in a methodical manner in an attempt to erase a long history and rich culture, started with US forces and continued by ISIS.
Abu Ghraib: The Real Face of “Liberation”
The U.S. sold the Iraq War as a mission to free the Iraqi people, but Abu Ghraib told the real story. The images from that infamous prison are burned into global memory: hooded prisoners standing on boxes, wires tied to their bodies; naked detainees stacked like human pyramids; men dragged on leashes like animals. This wasn’t an aberration—it was policy.
The Bush administration authorised "enhanced interrogation techniques," a euphemism for torture. Abu Ghraib wasn’t the work of a “few bad apples”; it was the logical outcome of a system that dehumanised Iraqis, treating them as obstacles to be broken, not people to be liberated. This is what the U.S. means by spreading freedom—torture, humiliation, and the destruction of human dignity.
The Rise of ISIS: America’s Gift to the Middle East
After obliterating Iraq’s state and creating a power vacuum, the U.S. left the door wide open for ISIS. Born out of the chaos of occupation, ISIS capitalised on the sectarian divisions exacerbated by U.S. policies. The disbanded Iraqi army became its recruiting ground, and the U.S.’s neoliberal experiment became its propaganda.
The rise of ISIS was used as yet another excuse for more U.S. intervention. Airstrikes and drone campaigns killed thousands of civilians, further alienating local populations and fueling the very extremism they claimed to be fighting. The cycle of violence perpetuated by the U.S. didn’t end—it just metastasised.
Profits Over People: Iraq as a Cash Cow
Let’s be clear: the Iraq War wasn’t a failure for everyone. For U.S. corporations, it was a bonanza. Halliburton, once chaired by Vice President Dick Cheney, pocketed billions in contracts to "rebuild" Iraq. Blackwater’s mercenaries earned fortunes providing "security" while killing civilians with impunity. Even the oil companies got their slice, carving up Iraq’s reserves while Iraqis saw none of the wealth.
Iraq wasn’t liberated—it was looted. And while the U.S. government loves to talk about human rights, its actions prove otherwise. The only rights that mattered in Iraq were corporate profits and geopolitical dominance.
The Endless War: A Legacy of Suffering
Today, Iraq remains a broken country. Infrastructure lies in ruins, corruption is rampant, and sectarian violence continues to tear communities apart. Millions of Iraqis are dead, displaced, or living in poverty, all thanks to the U.S.’s obsession with reshaping the world in its image.
And what did the U.S. achieve? It didn’t find WMDs. It didn’t bring democracy. It didn’t even secure lasting control over Iraq’s oil. Instead, it left a trail of devastation, setting the Middle East on fire and walking away to repeat the same script somewhere else.
Conclusion: Bombing the World Into Peace
Iraq is the ultimate indictment of U.S. imperialism—a nation crucified under the false promise of liberation. Like El Salvador before it, Iraq was turned into a graveyard in service of Washington’s ambitions. But let’s not kid ourselves: Iraq wasn’t a failure. For the Pentagon, the defense contractors, and the oil companies, it was a roaring success.
The U.S. doesn’t bring peace. It doesn’t bring freedom. It brings bombs, torture, and a neoliberal order that grinds human lives into profit margins. Iraq’s suffering isn’t just a tragedy—it’s a blueprint for how the U.S. operates. And as long as that blueprint remains intact, there will be more Iraqs, more crucifixions, and more victims of the empire’s insatiable hunger for power.
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