Iraq and Iran: A Future in Trade

News&Views
The Armchair Curmudgeon
March 20, 2007


Inevitable Relations Between Iran and Iraq
Downplayed by US


In listening to the rhetoric pouring out of the PR mills in Washington, we are being led to believe that Iran is the pinnacle of Evil; that what the Iranians excel in is exporting chaos and mayhem to Iraq but, upon further investigation, we discover that claim may not hold up.

Washington’s tendency to tell us only half the truth is exacerbated in its misleading claims about Iran’s role in Iraq.

The fact is that were it not for Iran’s participation in Iraq, the average Iraqi would know few creature comforts in these days when we can’t even get the power generators to stay on more than 8 hrs. and there are shortages of fuel all over the country.

Iran is not only supplying oil and other basic materials, it is also supplying manufactured products that help Iraqis to lead a normal life—from air conditioners to automobiles.

The truth is that there are scant figures being released by Iran with the exception of their estimated trade with the Kurds which they claim amounted to over one billion dollars last year; but it is clear that Iran’s trade with Iraq is burgeoning beyond anything anticipated.

Inasmuch as Iraq’s industries are devastated, and, for the most part, have not been able to supply Iraqi’s needs, were it not for the Iranian willingness to trade their lives would be much poorer.

And while few can forget the fact that Iraq had battled Iran for more than a dozen years, the fact is that, today, both countries are closer than ever.

Therefore, despite what the government tells its citizens, some Iraqis are finding a way out of the continuing morass by recognizing that the Iranian influence may not be as bad as once thought.

At the same time, Sunnis are seeking a solution in closer ties with their Sunni neighbors, Jordan and Syria and Syria has been involved with growing exports to Iraqis.

What Saddam had held together as one nation, seems to be finding some logic in dividing itself along the lines of its religious loyalties. One suspects that General Petraeus and the and Washington will have little influence on what happens as a result of growing trade among nations. And that more or less, in playing policeman, we have accomplished little else for our 400 billion dollar investment. It is too late in the game to have suggested that the truer path to any success might have been diplomacy as the facts seem to bear out..

Les Aaron
The Armchair Curmudgeon
March 20, 2007