Obviously, I am a slacker and I have not been posting as I said I would. Let’s be clear: I am not MntGoat. She’s moved off Facebook and a link to her very public new site has been passed around. The original goal of this website is OBE so I will no longer post regular MntGoat updates. Curiously, she didn’t want to use the domain name so I will continue to use it.
Recently there were news reports of US air strikes against “Iranian-backed PMF units” in Iraq near the Syrian border. The US moves were a response to the ongoing and escalating activity of certain aggressive PMF- and Iran-linked units like K’atib Hizbollah. Naturally, the anti-US position is that the US was the aggressor, not acting in self-defense. The Iraqi PM publicly declared that the US action was a violation of Iraqi sovereignty (USA didn’t tell him they were going to drop bombs on Iraq) In contrast, Turkey frequently moves against Kurdish “terrorists” in Iraq, both by air and ground forces, and we rarely hear Iraq condemn these violations of sovereignty. I think events like these — and the responses to them — signal that Iraq cannot stand on its own and that removing “Western” forces is basically a capitulation and invitation to Iran to continue consuming its neighbor. IMHO, this is very bad for our IQD goals.
Drought and water-infrastructure are long-term issues that are coming to a head again. Water issues lead to civil unrest (protests) and demonstrate the corruption and incompetence for which Iraq is justly famous. Drought story. In addition to food and general health and well-being, the water shortage impacts the energy supply. Water/electricity story. Iran has supplied a large portion of Iraq’s electricity for a long time, and they frequently use this leverage to their advantage, usually when it’s most inconvenient for Iraq. Over the years, Iraq’s neighbors have committed BILLIONS of dollars and resources to support Iraqi water and electricity infrastructure plans and projects…and Iraq has squandered every single such opportunity through corruption and incompetence. IMHO, Iraq’s corruption and infrastructure situation plus Iran’s undiminished influence over Iraq do not bode well for our IQD goals.
More soon!