In her essay, “Operation Iraqi Freedom Exposed”, Marjorie Cohn talks about the real reasons of US led invasion in Iraq and how, the revelation of Bush signing the agreement for a permanent military presence in Iraq before his term is up, clarifies the intentions of the unjustified war.War on terror was never about the weapons of mass destruction or about finding the links between Saddam Hussein & Al-Qaeda nor it was ever about bringing democracy in Iraq. All these justifications were lies to cover up real intentions behind “Operation Iraqi Freedom” which was nothing else but the permanent presence of American troops in Iraq.Bush with all his authority declared that Iraqi leaders require American assistance in all spheres even after the Bush regime is over. His emphasis is on Direct Foreign Investment in which preferential treatment should be given to U.S. investments. This not the first attempt to temper Iraqi Oil Law. He has been touting the law which would transfer three-quarters of Iraq’s oil to foreign companies and hey will also enjoy the fake impression of progress and development of the country. But in the face of opposition by the Iraqi oil unions, the parliament has refused to pass that law.Camp Anaconda, which is 15 square miles of Iraqi soil, is a fortified city for American ambassadors and his fellow men with its very own power and water supply and generating units. It’s the largest embassy in the world costing more than $600 million and the architecture is visible from the space. Embassy is a mini USA in the middle of Iraq.Cohn in her article refers to Al-hayat report in Arabic which clearly states that the Sadr Movement and the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front rejected the “memorandum of understanding” between the United States and Iraq that Bush and Nuri al-Maliki signed. They are also apprehensive about the lack of determined timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.John Pilger comparing the mass killing with Rwanda genocide states that the number of Iraqis being killed, makes Operation Iraqi freedom the biggest single act of mass murder of the late 20th century and the 21st century.
Cohn in her article urge the importance of people’s voice from all over the world to force USA and allies in war on terror to withdraw their troops from Iraq. She stresses upon the urgency to force United States not to attack on Iran. Otherwise we will once again be witnessing the episode of mass killing.
[1] This article is rephrased from Marjorie Cohn’s article “Bush Negotiates Permanent Presence in Iraq”, www.counterpunch.com. Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law