Soapbox:

Horrid occupation

By El-Sayed Eleiwa

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On 20 March, the world marked the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. There is no end to the turmoil in sight. I believe that the US is getting ready to stay in Iraq for 50 years to come. Isn't this what the US did in both Germany and Japan? What exactly stops the Americans from repeating in Iraq the same thing?

The Americans thought Iraq was going to be a walk in the park. As it turned out, they were confronted with one of the most determined resistance movements in history. Now the Americans have no exit strategy and no big idea, which makes them even more dangerous. The Americans acted hastily, failing to anticipate the reaction of the Iraqis. To this day, the Americans don't seem to fully appreciate the national character of the Iraqis, which is a blend of rebelliousness, respect for tradition and national pride.

Over the past five years, around 1.2 million Iraqis have been killed, twice as many injured, and nearly 4.7 million displaced or made refugees. That's a total of eight million lives lost or wrecked, not counting the millions who live in hunger and fear. Iraq was butchered to satisfy the twisted aims of US foreign policy. And I see no light at the end of the tunnel. People like John McCain are not going to pull the troops out, as he indicated in a recent statement. They are looking to stay on the ground for decades to come, though the Iraqis will not let them.

This week's Soapbox speaker is a professor of political science at Helwan University.