© STR/EPA
Anti-government demonstrations in Iraq have gained energy and focus in recent weeks.
Anti-government demonstrations in Iraq have gained energy and focus in recent weeks.
The indomitable Iraqi spirit is on display yet again, as protests against the corrupt government in Baghdad continue for the 21st successive day. This outburst of civil disobedience comes after a year in which westerners have heard relatively little about Iraq. Ever since the US claimed to withdraw its combat forces in 2011, most westerners have been oblivious to the daily struggles and hardships of Iraqis, who live under a government more beholden to foreign interests than to those of its people.
While the US has moved on, choosing to ignore the nightmare it created with war and occupation, Iraqis have gone to the streets, taking destiny in their own hands. But this should come as no surprise to those who know Iraq's history, where foreign domination has always been resisted.
Iraqis rose up to end the British mandate of their country in 1921, and after years of struggle, they overthrew the British-imposed monarchy in 1958. They carried on through yet more political turmoil when the prime minister, General Abdel-Karim Qasim, was assassinated in 1963, and succeeded by the military coup that ushered in Ba'athism. The Iraqi people endured repression from Saddam Hussein, who rose to power with help from the CIA. War with Iran lasted for most of the 1980s; the first Gulf war claimed an estimated 158,000 lives (32,195 of which were children) in 1991, and the resulting sanctions claimed an additional 1m lives.
