A spotlight on Iraq

Despite violence being reportedly at its lowest level since the 2003 invasion, Iraq is still arguably the most dangerous country on earth. On the surface, suicide bombings seem to be less frequent but more severe.

But it’s not just bomb blasts that cause ongoing suffering. Everyday issues such as child kidnappings, dismal unemployment and an absence of life’s basic services make it tough going for your average Iraqi.

While attention focuses on Afghanistan, Iraq is still at war with itself.

On Tuesday, five coordinated bomb blasts went off almost simultaneously outside government buildings in Baghdad. At least 127 people were killed and over 400 injured.

Again it is believed to be the work of extremist Sunni Muslims, the branch of Islam followers in power under Saddam, that are behind the attacks on the Shia Muslim-dominated government.

As was the case with a twin bomb attack in October that killed 155, and another in August that killed 100, people suspect government security guards were involved, given the ease at which the bombers passed some of the checkpoints where guards have hand-held devices to detect explosives.

Some guards are put under pressure or threatened by the insurgent groups to assist them in the operation. Others are believed to sympathise with their cause, as do a large portion of Iraqi people.

But aside from the latest sting of bombings, violent crime has been gradually increasing as people realise the strong arm of the law is in fact weak.

One growth area in particular has been child kidnappings. Criminal gangs have taken to the streets looking for what’s seen as easy money.

One family never saw their kidnapped 11-year-old son alive again despite paying a $25,000 ransom. A week after he was taken he was found in a building across the road disfigured by acid. Sadly, many more cases go unreported for fear of provoking backlash from the kidnappers.

It is issues like these that parents face in Iraq. Indeed, fighting and violence over the last six years has destroyed society at many levels.

There are now over a million orphans and widows as a result of the war. Two million people have fled the country, while another two million have fled their homes but mostly remain living in squalor within the country.

Sewage covers many streets. The basics of clean water, fuel and electricity are all frustratingly lacking. Health and education services, which were quite enviable under Saddam, have deteriorated.

And a lot of this violence and social ruin stems from the poor state of Iraq’s economy.

Unemployment is officially about 20%, but unofficial reports say it’s more like 50%. Shia Muslims regularly get preference over Sunnis in government jobs that make up over 60 percent of the country’s full-time employment. This creates resentment which helps fuel the insurgency.

Outside the government, many are employed in the black market, meaning tax revenue is very low. This results in the government having minimal tax money to spend on fixing all these problems.

The country’s saviour will be its oil (which ironically is what likely doomed it to misery in the first place). Oil already accounts for about 95 percent of government revenue and it’s expected to grow.

The government is about to have a second round of bidding for contracts for its oil fields this week, after a relatively fair and open first round of bidding. The people will be hoping for the economy’s sake, and for any violent backlashes that might follow, that the auctions stay this way.

After all, the new Iraqi politicians are notoriously corrupt. The transport minister was caught receiving $100,000 as the first instalment of another large bribe.

The trade minister and his brothers have been accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars. It seems it’s not the closely guarded oil ministry that the public needs to worry about.

And the insurgents are watching. The same day the bomb blasts occurred, politicians in Baghdad had just agreed to a Parliament structure to be the basis for an election in March next year.

The decision was made literally minutes before a postponement deadline and was held up because of disagreement over how much representation Sunnis would get in Parliament.

The public and international community will need to keep a close eye on what the politicians are doing, and if election tinkering occurs or such corruption remains, then expect violence to continue right through ‘til March and beyond.

By The Casual Truth