by Zach Bigalke

Created on: June 07, 2007

The idea that a nation such as the United States is owed for its actions in removing oppressive leaders from other sovereign states is ludicrous. This debate, I presume, stems from the U.S. "liberation" of Iraqis from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. But whose interests are really being served when governments meddle in foreign affairs to remove despots from their posts?

Consider Iraq pre-liberation. Under the rule of Hussein following the 1991 Gulf War, the United States and its allies set up economic sanctions which decimated civilian Iraqi infrastructure. Hussein was a dictator resigned after ten years of warfare to rule a weakened populace. I do not intend to condone Saddam's actions or policies. However, the threat Iraq posed to U.S. interests was marginal at best.

In 1991, when American coalition forces were in a prime position to act in toppling Hussein's then-potent regime, George H.W. Bush and his Cabinet pragmatically concluded that a full liberation would cripple both American and Iraqi interests. Geneva Convention rules of war denounce and forbid one state removing another's leader; rarely does such an action lead to beneficial results. Further, there is no definitive evidence that the Iraqi people desired an internationally-orchestrated regime change.

When a nation decides to meddle in the domestic affairs of another sovereign nation it does so out of blatant self-interest. The United States occupied Iraq and toppled Hussein in a desire to consolidate hegemonic power in the Middle East. Its rhetoric suggests a humanitarian desire to provide Iraqis with an opportunity for self-determination. Its actions, though, indicate a desire to instead establish a pro-American puppet state. This bungled occupation was perpetrated under false pretenses. The security of crude oil supplies and a hollow threat of weapons of mass destruction, not a genuine interest in improving Iraqi quality of life, led George W. Bush to go further than his father and sanction four-plus years of unguided and deplorable military action.

What do the Iraqis owe the United States in return? Absolutely nothing! Basic public services - water, electricity, food, medicine - are worse off with Americans pulling the strings than in the last days of Baathist control. Money earmarked for desperately-needed reconstruction projects instead lines the gluttonous pockets of Bush-supporting multinational corporations such as Bechtel and Halliburton. The United States has already raped Iraq for more than

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