USA forces Europe to recreate the war-torn Iraq

The US administration is trying to impose its will on European states, although it was the USA, which caused monstrous corruption and poverty in Iraq 

An international conference dedicated to security issues, as well as the political and economic development of Iraq, started working in Brussels today. The conference is being held two years after the start of the war in the Persian Gulf, which evoked massive protests on the part of the United Nations Organization and European states.  Spokespeople for more than 80 countries and organizations are taking part in the international discussion, which was initiated by the US administration.

Foreign ministers under the aegis of the United Nations will discuss possible ways to extricate from the economic crisis in Iraq. The question to write off the debts of the war-torn country is expected to become the central subject of the conference: the Iraqi government addressed to foreign creditors with a request to condone the foreign debt of Iraq. Most likely, the motion will not find understanding with European politicians.

As it was mentioned above, the conference is being held in the heart of the European Union – in Brussels. Washington's choice of the hosting city was not incidental. It is an open secret that European old-timers (save for Great Britain) protested against the military way to regulate the conflict in Iraq before and after the US-led Iraqi campaign. When it became clear that it was taking too much time for the campaign to last, the US administration realized that it was in dire need of support from both the EU and the United Nations. Nowadays, when the European Union suffered a debacle after the referendums in France and the Netherlands, Washington tries to dictate its own conditions on a foreign territory, forcing Europe to write off the Iraqi debt.

A year after the pro-American government seized power in Iraq, Washington is demonstrating the union of the Old and the New World in the “democratization” of Iraq. Such an impression became more evident after the USA-EU summit, which was held in Washington on Tuesday. Iraq was represented as a full-fledged state: it now has the Cabinet of Ministers, consisting of about 30 officials with Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafaari at the head. New Iraqi officials are determined to persuade the international community to help Iraq in solving its national problems: to end the ongoing guerrilla warfare and attract foreign investors for the recreation of the Iraqi economy.

It goes without saying that these problems appeared in Iraq because of the actions of the US administration, which eventually gave rise to monstrous corruption in the state. One-third of the Iraqi population was deprived of drinking water after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. Hunger and poverty became the national peculiarity of Iraq. To crown it all, the state gradually becomes a transit center in the drug trafficking business. Not less than 30,000 Iraqis were killed during the US-led war. According to the vice-speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Hussein Sharistani, corruption has enslaved even high-ranking officials of Iraq, who actually chair anti-corruption departments.

One may say that governmental structures of the new Iraq were organized on the base of the looting principle: “steal what has been stolen.” According to the 2003 resolution, the USA controls all the profit of the oil industry through the Iraq Foundation. In addition, Iraq was relieved of trade sanctions in order to obtain the absolute freedom for oil and gas sales. A recent auditing inspection of the foundation, which was established by the US administration with a view to accumulate all the funds arriving in Iraq, revealed that the occupation administration was using the funds without any control.

Needless to say that Europe, as well as Russia, is interested to win contracts in Iraq. However, no one is willing to send money to corruption-gripped officials, even under the pressure of Washington. Furthermore, foreign states do not wish to invest in the recreation of Iraq, ruled by violence and poverty.

That was probably the reason why US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, expressed her skeptic attitude regarding the possibility to write off the Iraqi debt. One could see, however, that Ms. Rice was hoping for a new international partnership to be achieved as a result of the Brussels-based conference. The Iraqi administration is perfectly aware of it.

Iraq will definitely promise to stick to the political program, which has an objective to stabilize the situation in the country. The new editing of the Iraqi Constitution is to be approved before August 15th, a referendum is to take place in October, whereas elections are slated to happen in December of the current year. It became known from official sources in Brussels that the US administration wanted to see the process open for everyone, Sunnites inclusive.

The final declaration of the conference is said to contain an appeal of world's major states for the interim structure of the Iraqi administration. In addition, the incumbent Iraqi government said that Iraq did not have an intention to ruin relations with its traditional partner, Iran. It was a rather annoying initiative for Washington, though.

The fate of the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, may generate new claims on the part of the international community. Iraqi Minister for Justice, Abdel Hussein Shandal, stated prior to the start of the conference in Brussels, that US defense authorities did not let Iraqi authorities interrogate Saddam Hussein. The minister added that there were a lot of secrets, which American officials would like to conceal even on the threshold of the forthcoming trial against Saddam Hussein.

It is worth mentioning in this respect that the USA's CIA moved Iraq's secret intelligence archives to its headquarters in Baghdad soon after the elections in Iraq in January. The USA apparently did not want the new Iraqi government to see the documents.