20 years after US invasion of Iraq, chaos and corruption reign

The dismantling of the regime created a vacuum allowing Iran to step in and control the country, plundering its wealth

Andrei Cojocaru

Security institutions were purposely kept weak so as there would be no threat to the ruling parties, but this has led to widespread crime and terror

20 years after US invasion of Iraq, chaos and corruption reign

Salam Zaidan

last update on 20 Mar 2023

Baghdad: This March marks the 20th anniversary of the US occupation of Iraq, which brought about a new, unstable political regime not widely accepted by all Iraqis due to accusations of corruption, the decline of the economy and public services, the continuous interference of Iran, and military clashes between Washington and Tehran.

Since then, Iraq has been in perpetual state of chaos sparking the October Protest Movement a few years back which was spearheaded by Iraqi youth desperate for change.

Over the past two decades, the influence of Tehran and Washington has become clear, as the process of government formation is subject to their influences, despite their votes of the electorate.

This meddling began in 2010 when Iran prevented Ayad Allawi from forming the government after winning the elections, and it happened again in 2018 when the ballot boxes were burned.

This was repeated in 2021, when Muqtada al-Sadr won the elections but was opposed by Iran, forcing him to fight a civil war that led to hundreds of deaths and injuries. Al-Sadr was then forced to withdraw from the political process permanently.

A portrait of Saddam Hussein still hangs on the burning Ministry of Transport and Communication building in Baghdad, April 9, 2003. Thousands went on a looting rampage as U.S. troops moved into the Iraqi capital.

Iraq is not a democracy

"The regime established in Iraq after 2003 was not democratic, but rather a state comprised of several components,” Iraqi politician Nadim al-Jabri, one of the authors of the Iraqi constitution in 2005, told Al Majalla.

Al-Jabri is the former Secretary General of the Virtue Party, one of the main Shiite parties that assumed state administration after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. However, al-Jabri now sees the situation differently and has become indignant about the new political regime.

According to al-Jabri, democracy is built based on civil parties, equal opportunity, and the just distribution of wealth. But it seems that Iraq’s various political parties only practice one of these pillars — elections. And as time has proven, polls can be easily manipulated.

While citizens have lost trust in the political system, they are also to partly to blame, according to al-Jabri, who points to their continuous rallying around their sects, clans, militias and regions. Overall, there is a clear lack of awareness regarding building state institutions.

He goes on to explain that since regime change was imposed on Iraq and did not happen naturally, many people still believe in dictatorship.

U.S. Army Stf. Sgt. Chad Touchett, center, relaxes with comrades from A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, following a search in one of Saddam Hussein's palaces damaged after a bombing, in Baghdad, in this April 7, 2003.

Violent sectarianism

The security situation in Iraq has been abysmal, as extremist organisations —both Sunni and Shiite— have proliferated under the unstable regime. This sectarian conflict has raged for years under international cover, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Iraqis.

Diana Estefanía Rubio

Despite the state’s massive spending on security to the tune of $20 billion a year, mass executions of civilians are still being carried out — sometimes by Shiite militias and other times by ISIS.

Despite the state's massive spending on security to the tune of $20 billion a year, mass executions of civilians are still being carried out — sometimes by Shiite militias and other times by ISIS.

According to Iraqi security expert Ali al-Baydar, the US occupation dissolved Iraq's security institutions, establishing weaker ones in its place. The ruling parties in Iraq have had one main goal since 2003, which was to get rid of the remnants of Saddam's regime and security apparatus.

As a result, Iraq has seemingly been in a permanent state of war where police, militias and soldiers constantly patrol Iraqi cities brandishing their weapons. Assassinations and kidnappings continued, and thousands were killed in plain sight of security services that could do nothing to prevent it.

AFP — In this file photo dated on April 9, 2003 a US Marine covers the face of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's statue with the US flag in Baghdad's al-Fardous square.

Weak security institutions

According to al-Baydar, security leaders were chosen on partisan and sectarian bases, which — in addition to corruption, poor planning, mismanagement, and regional interference — have weakened the role of security institutions.

Hisham Al-Hashemi, a prominent security researcher and advisor to the Prime Minister, was assassinated by a member of the Shiite "Hezbollah Brigades" militia, who was also an officer in the Ministry of Interior. Despite the assailant's arrest over two years ago, he has not yet been tried because of political pressure exerted on the judiciary. Some sources have claimed that the killer was released and smuggled to Iran.

According to al-Baydar, Iraqi's ruling regime purposely keeps security foundations weak, because they believe they would not be able to rule in a stable Iraq. This deterioration of security and the state's overall role has, as result, accelerated the emergence of armed groups, which have — both openly and clandestinely — infiltrated state institutions.

When ISIS grabbed international headlines in 2014 with their takeover of large swathes of Iraq, it was only then that the world took notice of just how weak the country's security forces were. With the Iraqi army incapable of confronting ISIS, international and Arab countries were compelled to provide their forces, forming an international coalition aimed at expelling ISIS.

During this period, the humanitarian crisis worsened. According to the Iraqi Observatory, 27,000 Iraqi lives were lost between 2014-2018 — most of them from areas controlled by ISIS.

Many Iraqis were summarily executed in remote areas where the army and police forces were unable to enter. Sunni areas emptied, such as Jurf al-Sakhar, and were taken over by militias.

EPA — PFC Marcus Atkinson of Sumter, South Carolina, a U.S. soldier from 1-22, 4th Infantry Division, guards a street during a patrol in Tikrit, Iraq, 18 December 2003.

Rampant corruption

Switching to Iraq's economy, it is in no better condition than the country's political and security situation. Reports issued by the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company SOMO said that, from the year 2003 until the end of 2022, revenue generated from Iraq's oil industry amounted to $1.72 trillion. However, due to financial and administrative corruption, those funds were not invested in the country's development.

Iraq is still suffering from various crises, such as power outages that last for more than 12 hours in Baghdad, the import of fuel and gas from neighbouring countries, and the collapse of the agriculture, industrial, education, and health sectors.

Financial and administrative corruption worsened in Iraq, as oil revenues were not invested in building sovereign funds allocated for future generations but wasted on hiring supporters of ruling parties and militias and establishing a deep state loyal to them. The number of employees now exceed four million, compared to less than one million in 2003.

Embezzling Iraqi money is very easy. According to Ali Allawi, the former finance minister, more than $250 billion has been smuggled out of Iraq. However, Iraq's largest embezzlement of public funds happened during his reign, when $2.5 billion were stolen. And despite his confession of stealing the money, the criminal was released during Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani's reign.

Embezzling Iraqi money is very easy. According to Ali Allawi, the former finance minister, more than $250 billion has been smuggled out of Iraq.

According to Muhammad al-Rubaie, a Board of Directors of Transparency International member, corruption gained political cover after 2003. It spread all around the country, affecting the quality of life whereby thousands die annually because of stolen funds allocated for health and service projects. Al-Rubaie told Al Majalla that, as a result, Iraqis were forced to seek medical treatment and pursue their education abroad.

Housing has also been affected, as money laundering operations conducted by certain parties affiliated with politicians has drove up housing prices to more than $7,000 per square meter. The embezzled public funds are then smuggled out of Iraq.

Most of this embezzled money is still outside Iraq, according to al-Rubaie who says that retrieving will be an extremely difficult task as it currently serves several countries' economies.

Testimonials and Movement

Abd al-Rahman al-Mashhadani, a professor of Economics at the Iraqi University, told Al Majalla that all the state's revenues, since the establishment of the Iraqi state in 1920 and until the fall of the previous political regime in 2003, have amounted to $287 billion, while from 2003 until now, oil and non-oil revenues exceed $1.5 trillion.

This money, however, did not go towards building new cities, bridges, trains or hospitals. According to al-Mashhadani, Iraq is in continuous decline with no solution in sight. He added that Dutch Disease — a term used to describe the increase of consumption and the absence of production — has infected the country.

All the state's institutions, whether productive or not, in addition to the retirees and the social protection network, depend on oil revenues. He indicated that there is practiced state discrimination, as government employees can get loans, pensions, and other benefits, while normal civilians get nothing.

AFP — In this file photo dated on April 8, 2003 smoke billows from an explosion behind a government building, during a fierce battle between US troops and Iraqi forces in the presidential compound in Baghdad.

Illiteracy and corruption in education

Al-Mashhadani said that illiteracy has spread throughout Iraq, despite being one of the first countries in the world to eradicate it. Even the classroom is not spared from corruption. The professor says that exam questions often get leaked to social media from the Education Ministry hours before exams start.

Illiteracy has spread throughout Iraq, despite being one of the first countries in the world to eradicate it. Even the classroom is not spared from corruption. Exam questions often get leaked to social media from the Education Ministry hours before exams start.

More than 5,000 people have been given senior academic positions without educational degrees, he explained, adding that political parties have passed a law keeping those people in their positions while they study. Some hold a doctorate despite not even having a high school degree.

Meanwhile, green spaces and areas designated for building hospitals in residential neighbourhoods have been seized. Instead of holding the thieves accountable, a law was passed granting them ownership of the land.

AFP — In this file photo dated on January 18, 2008 two US soldiers from the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment walk past a concrete block with a painted-on Iraqi flag as they patrol a neighbourhood in Baghdad.

Anti-government protests crushed

The continuous economic decline over the years sparked a popular youth movement in Baghdad and the southern governorates, mainly consisting of Shiite youth calling for the overthrow of the regime. They pointed to financial and administrative corruption, deteriorating quality of life, and worsening unemployment and poverty.

During Adil Abdul-Mahdi's tenure, specific agencies and militias affiliated with them carried out assassinations against the leaders of that movement. They also stormed protest squares, which led to the death of more than 800 people, especially after the demonstrators began burning Iranian consulates in 2015, attributing the deterioration of the situation to Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs.

Dhurgham Majid, the leader of the Tishreen Movement, said that militias and mafias have spread throughout the state, supporting the corrupt governments that plundered the country's wealth. These same militias crushed popular opposition, but Majid vows that the movement will continue to push for better governance and a regime that serves all of the Iraqi people.

The movement's leader said that Iraq is being controlled by the US, Turkey and Iran and pointed to how ridiculous it is that Iraqi citizens belonging to the second largest oil producer in OPEC spend hours without electricity every day because of Iran, which benefits from the crisis and profits in the billions by selling gas and electricity to Iraq.

He also said that border crossings with Iran are controlled by militias instead of the state, which means that goods that compete with local producers and not to mention drugs are smuggled into Iraq and have spread everywhere in the country.

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