U.S. Media Wonders Why Iraq Still Isn't a Democracy, Ignoring Previous 'Liberation'
Al-Monitor's piece, "Will Iraq’s election results reshape Iran’s role in Baghdad?", frames Iran's influence as a dynamic challenge, noting 'US pressure' and 'postwar regional shifts.' What they gloss over, with the practiced deftness of a magician's misdirection, is the small detail that the "postwar" state of Iraq is a direct result of a U.S.-led invasion in 2003, destabilizing an entire region
and creating the very power vacuum Iran was always positioned to fill. (Lest we forget the 'mission accomplished' banner flapping proudly before the decade-plus insurgency.) The current U.S. concern over Iranian influence is akin to an arsonist complaining about smoke damage. Washington helped dismantle Iraq's secular government, allowing religious and sectarian forces, many aligned with Tehran by
necessity or conviction, to ascend. To then present Iran's role as a mysterious, growing problem rather than an entirely predictable consequence of Western policy isn't just bad journalism; it's a cynical repackaging of historical amnesia. Perhaps they'd prefer Iraq to be a model democracy, just not one that ever deviates from American strategic interests (or oil pipelines).