At Policy Mic, Kevin Coyne offers his predictions for 2013 which include "The Doomed" countries headed for deep trouble in 2013. Topping the list?
1) Iraq: Better known to most
Americans these days as "NotOurProblemAnymoreistan," Iraq is in for one
rough year – which is really saying something. The federal system set up
following the U.S. invasion is splitting apart at the country's
regional and sectarian seams, and upcoming provincial elections in the
spring will only exacerbate tensions.
In recent weeks, a national protest movement against the ineffective
Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has spread, but frustration with the
status quo is about the only unifying element among the Sunni, Shia,
and Kurdish elements taking part. In 2013, expect the rift between the
cash-strapped government in Baghdad and the oil-rich autonomous Kurdish
region in the North to reach a breaking point. Also, while much is said
of the Sunni-Shia divide, keep an eye on rifts within the Shia majority,
which may not only cast out Maliki, but also topple the regime and send
everyone back to the streets to “re-negotiate” the political order…
Whatever happens in Iraq in 2013, the silence on it is appalling. The billions US tax payers continue to have to spend on Iraq should, at the very least, result in a weekly press briefing on Iraq from the State Dept. Instead, days go by with nothing. The President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, has a stroke and the State Dept doesn't even issue a statement.
If most Americans realized that the spending on Iraq didn't cease at the end of 2011, that in the midst of a so-called 'fiscal crisis' billions of US dollars were still being sent to Iraq, that the State Dept was spending more on Iraq than any other country, do you think they'd put up with the silence?
Kevin Coyne is making a prediction. His article admits it's a prediction. He's not claiming, "This will happen and read on for tomorrow night's winning lotto numbers." But he's looking at what's going on around the world, looking at individual countries and, based on the information and event right now, Iraq is his pick for "The Doomed." It's telling that, if you pay attention, what's taking place in Iraq is frightening (and the protests against what's taking place are encouraging -- the Iraqi people have tremendous strength, much more so than their appalling government). But the coverage really doesn't capture that.
If you pay attention, Little Saddam (Nouri) gets worse and worse and worse. And he's not called out by the White House and the White House ships more and more weapons to him and it's as though it's 1973 and Nouri is Pinochet and Iraq is Chile. Yet again, the Iraqis will suffer and, yet again, it will be the US government's fault.
Unless something's done. But how can anything be done when the coverage just isn't there anymore?
It's over, I'm done writing songs about love
There's a war going on
So I'm holding my gun with a strap and a glove
And I'm writing a song about war
And it goes
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Na na na na na na na
I hate the war
Oh oh oh oh
-- "I Hate The War" (written by Greg Goldberg, on The Ballet's Mattachine!)
The number of US service members the Dept of Defense states died in the Iraq War is [PDF format warning] 4488.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
i hate the war
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