Talk delivered July 22, 2004 to Roslindale Neighbors for Peace and Justice

After invading Iraq, the leader of the conquering army proclaimed:

“Our armies do not come in your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators … I am commanded to invite you to participate in the management of your own civil affairs.”

Was this George Bush, Tony Blair, Paul Bremer, or Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez? No, it was conquering British General Stanley Maude, in 1917.1,2

This was after Iraq was conquered, during the First World War.

Soon, thereafter, their hopes for independence betrayed, the Iraqis launched a rebellion. The British used their superior weaponry to suppress it, including the new poison gas, recommended by T. E. Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia.3 Winston Churchill commented:

“I do not understand this squeamishness about the use of gas… I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes.”3

Approximately 450 British troops died while suppressing the rebellion. While then, as now, no one counted Iraqi deaths, estimates range from 8,000 to 10,000.1

Forty-seven year old Winston Churchill was appointed to come up with a solution. A ruler was found. He wasn't Iraqi, but from Saudi Arabia, but that didn't matter. Prince Faisal became a British-appointed king. A regime was set up with the minority Sunni religious group dominant and the majority Shiites kept largely powerless.

1. J. Kifner. “Britain Tried First. Iraq Was No Picnic Then.” New York Times. July 20, 2003.
2. S. Maude. “The Proclamation of Baghdad.” Harpers Magazine [Web posting]. Dec. 4, 2003.
3. D. Blair. “Meddling in Mesopotamia was always risky.” Telegraph. March 18, 2003.

Fast forward:
To conclude, imagine yourself an Iraqi. You've suffered terribly under a ruthless dictator. The Americans invade your country under false pretenses. They promise democracy but don't organize elections. They appoint exiles to rule you, exiles who spend most of their time out of the country and the rest in a few highly protected areas. The occupiers break into your homes in the middle of the night and arrest your men, who then disappear, with no accountability. They shoot Iraqis at roadblocks and from convoys. They declare war on the second most popular man in the country, announcing his death in advance. They open the economy to US corporations and give them sweetheart contracts, ignoring local business. Then they write hundreds of laws and establish commissions limiting any future government. They build permanent military bases on your soil. Then they turn your country over to a former associate of Saddam Hussein, also a former CIA agent, known for his ruthless brutality. Imagine that was your country. What would you do?