The Anti-war.com’s Midsummer Night's Dream

The Anti-war.com’s Midsummer Night's Dream

To celebrate the summer solstice, Ivan Eland, the director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at the Independent Institute, wrote a romantic comedy published by Antiwar.com, titled “Lessons for Iraq from the Former Yugoslavia”.

Eland writes:

“Unfortunately, in the 1990s, violence during Yugoslavia's break up tended to be directly proportional to the ethno-sectarian diversity of the geographical entity. Slovenia – the most ethnically, religiously, culturally, and linguistically homogeneous of the former Yugoslav states – had the least violence during the disintegration. After a war of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 that lasted only 10 days and killed only 70 people, Slovenia has flourished politically and economically. In contrast, in the more ethnically and religiously diverse Croatia, severe violence occurred in its subsequent war of independence. Even worse, the most ethnically and religiously heterogeneous piece of geography in the former Yugoslavia – Bosnia – had a brutal civil war with the worst atrocities committed in Europe since World War II.”

Like in every comedy, there must be some humor. Here you go:

“The Western powers, led by the United States, became involved and forced the parties into the uneasy Dayton peace accord. The primary reason that Bosnia has not exploded into renewed civil war since the 1990s is the Dayton accord's creation of a decentralized Bosnian state. Such a governing arrangement allows each group – the Serbs, the Croats, and the Muslims – to have autonomous governance and a veto over decisions by the weak central government. The structure is not perfect, but it has helped prevent further eruptions of ethno-sectarian carnage.”

In other words, the barbarians were helped by the generous Western powers who “became involved” to bring about peace. Of course that is exactly what happened; the NATO and the US’ role was precisely that one. No doubt about that!

For a “slightly” different reading of what happened then in Yugoslavia, please read: The Dismantling of Yugoslavia: A Study in Inhumanitarian Intervention (and a Western Liberal-Left Intellectual and Moral Collapse) written by Edward S. Herman and David Peterson

Now, back to the Anti-war.com’s Midsummer Night's Dream. Barbarians in Yugoslavia, barbarians in Iraq. Thank God the world can count on Uncle Sam and its many nephews, always so enlightened and generous of brilliant ideas. Eland gives us the solution for Iraq:

“Given Iraq's history of one group dominating the central government machinery – the Sunnis – and using it to oppress the other groups – the Kurds and the Shi'a – [ALERT: you’re reading PROPAGANDA] the groups will likely eventually fight over any significant central government power. Thus, to prevent an all-out civil war when the United States finally pulls its finger out of the dike and withdraws its military forces from the country, the power of the Iraqi government will probably have to be reduced to a weak confederation of autonomous regions based on voluntary tribal or ethno-sectarian associations. And even then, the best Iraq can probably hope for is uneasy stability – similar to that afforded to Bosnia by its weak confederation.”

Back to reality. The US illegal invasion and occupation is responsible for the Iraq genocide, including the sectarian violence and the ethnic cleansing occurred AFTER THAT INVASION. The myth [the bad Sunni oppressing Kurds and Shi’a] on which the Antiwar.com’s author builds his shameful proposal [the partition of Iraq], is just one of the many propaganda tools the Empire sold its ruthless adventure. [Just out of curiosity, have you noticed that since the 2003 US-led invasion-occupation of that country, Iraq’s citizens are not called Iraqis anymore but Muslims or Christians, Sunni or Shi’a, Arabs or Kurds? Interesting, isn’t it?].

This is the so-called anti-war movement in the West. The old Zionist dream, the partition of Iraq – probably the real, initial goal of the 2003 illegal invasion and occupation – is now sold to the brainwashed Western audiences with an antiwar label on it.

Of course it’s difficult to get rid of this white-man syndrome, especially the Anglo-Saxon variety; the very core of imperialism and colonialism, this racist idea that nourishes even in the best intentioned minds: teaching these inferior races how to live their lives and run their business. Ivan Eland and Antiwar.com should maybe consider if instead a better idea could be the partition of the United States of Amnesia. This planet (including the vast majority of the US citizens) would surely live much better. And in peace, at last!