As an Iraqi, I do ask this question to myself a lot, what the world opinion on modern Iraq. It changed a lot especially after ISIS war, but people here generally don’t value the change that much due to high unemployment rates, drought, and bossy militias.
Iraq I feel like we (the US) wrecked and looted y’all and left the mess for you to clean up. I can remember being shocked at the start of that war and extremely skeptical about the pretext. Uneasy in general about the treatment of women there. I do think of the culture as so old, like the weight of history would lay heavy, and feel so bad about historical places getting smashed in war.
(Also so sorry for severe edit - my sleepy brain read Iran)
It is a country with people in it of whom some suck and some don’t suck. Like everywhere really.
Lovely people, amazing history, real shame about the politics. Also sorry about what my country did to yours. I hear your country is gorgeous.
Are you an Iraqi in Iraq? I am an ex-iraqi but have lived in the Nordics majority of my life. People here don’t talk much about the country, but the few tourists that go there go to Erbil and only have good things to say about it.
Would love to hear your own experience too.
Yes, born raised and probably gonna die here. I live in southern region of Iraq, specifically the city of Nasiryah. Generally everything are still lacking behind due to years of war but it’s getting better bit by bit with some hiccups because of the Iranian government influence, inflation, corruption.
Good that improvements are happening. I was briedly in basra long time ago. Stay strong!
Honestly, I’ve heard or read very little about Iraq after the war, so I have no idea what happened there since then. Unfortunately I think the country is still mostly being associated with war and crisis here in Germany. I think it’s a very interesting place especially for its ancient history though. Some of the first highly developed civilizations arose there. Would love to visit places like Ur, Babylon or Nineveh one day.
Cradle of civilization. Brilliant art math and architecture. A total victim of countless imperial aggression due to its resources. Will never forgive what the US did and the fighters in Fallujah were heroes.
I wish I could go there and meet people
Since we really only hear what little our media publishes about military operations, and the coming and going of the military, can you please tell us a little about it?
Well nothing much since 2014 except it become more safe with the security situation becoming more stable that tourists are being attracted to here. Corruption still a big issue and we see more and more of these cases most of them don’t get resolved unfortunately because of the authorities negligence. Lack of jobs made the people more mad with the last 4 years, protests became more often demanding of jobs in the government sectors. Water drought and the climate change started to effect our lives with no government efforts to reduce it’s impact. Generally Iraq is better now people are happier than ever.
Thanks for the reply.The corruption seems to be an issue in most governments. Do most Iraqis you know think life is better or worse since Hussein is no longer in power?
Most of us here think that life here is much better now, even with all the economic obstacles and challenges.
If the people are happier, that’s a starting point. I’d like to see more on-the-ground, fair coverage of your nation. It’s hard to have any opinion, let alone an informed opinion, without media attention.
Please do share more, whenever and in whatever discussions you’re inclined. I’m interested!
Thanks really, I appreciate your interest. I will do when the chance come.
You’re welcome. Thank you, too. I’ve followed you so I hope that lets me learn more about you as a person, and your country, as a whole. May you be happy and well.
I’m an American and a Texan. I feel shame, anger, guilt, worry, and pity.
Bush (a Texan) back in the day started a 10 year war with your country that my taxes paid and generation died for. This was done with completely fabricated evidence. Bush Senior, about decade before, undermined the foundations of free speech and journalism to facilitate Desert Storm.
I’m part of a military industrial machine that kills people to make some of my country men rich.
I’m very different from a typical person from the middle east. I don’t even abide or respect abrahamic religions. Those differences don’t make me angry though, the world would be better to leave those different than me with peace and quiet. I want Iraqi people to be happy and content, for the selfish reason that I don’t want to think about the region.
I’m extremely fearful that the powers that be in Washington will decide to invade Iraq again in a decade or so.
This is a much more serious version of my answer, which was going to be
“That’s one of the places where we decided oil was more precious than human life; I don’t really think of Iraq because the only discourse about it in my country is blatant xenophobia and I’m still working on finding ways around the propaganda”
Not heard of it since.
Which is good I suppose because it would have to be something horrific enough to push Russia-Ukraine or Israel-Hamas out of the media.
How is it nowadays? Getting better/worse/nowhere?
Not really much, the government only depends on oil for income with little to none effort of changing that direction. Electricity demand is higher than ever with the service declining each and every year.
Some guilt over the war, hoping y’all don’t become irans bitch.
I think US should honor request of Iraq to remove bases if that’s an earnest request
2million people were victims of american murderers. The americans like to forget that their foreign policy and behaviour of their military is basically identical to the IDF.
There were plenty of us that saw right through the bullshit even before the war started but unfortunately because the SCOTUS decided the election for us we were stuck with a gang of money hungry pieces of shit… I mean we still are, but we were then too…
I was young and naive so I wanted to join the military in hopes of getting some technical skills, but even as a 17 year old idiot I saw right through bushs bullshit and said fuuuuccckkkkk that. Now I work in a factory… Fuck Bush, fuck Cheney, fuck Rumsfield… War criminals the lot of them.
To get to OPs question, in America I think we have a collective shame about it so it’s pretty much never spoken about at all. The state of Iraq is only ever mentioned within the context of ISIS :(
It’s really funny if you think about it, what America identified as terrorists and imprisoned at Abu Ghraib prison are now politics controlling Iraq’s economy each one with his own militia to protect him from the law. We now only looking for the future with people tending to forget what happened 20 years ago in the hope that things get better.
The anti war movement against the illegal war on Iraq was the biggest mobilization in history. Millions of people all over the world tried to stop the war but we’re ultimately unsuccessful. Which brings us to a bigger question, why don’t we the people have political power. I believe it comes down to greed, and capitalism. How can we stop these wars? The genocide on Palestine? The only weapon we have is to withhold our labour. Organize, unionize and strike.
It’s your last line. We have to find a way to take the world back from billionaires, by force if necessary. It’s unreal that a small handful of assholes have the power over the billions of us that they do.
First Past The Post voting artificially limiting our options in the voting booth.
I personally believe I have zero right to hold any viewpoint or opinion aside from feeling like the western lines drawn for the middle east after WWII were bullshit.
Let that part of the world run itself and leave them all the fuck alone.
I know almost nothing about it, but I find ancient Mesopotamia fascinating.
As an American, sorry about the war that my country committed against yours for no good reason. And I’m sorry for all the innocent people that my country killed. I wish your country well, and hope you can achieve peace and stability for your people.
I think it’s history, particularly ancient is fascinating.
