Iraq Reconstruction: The Pottery Barn Rule Applies to Washington and NATO-Arab Allies

Rasa - The Pottery Barn Rule is an American expression alluding to a policy of "you break it, you bought it" or “you break it, you buy it” or "you break it, you remake it", by which a retail store holds a customer responsible for damage done to merchandise on display.

News ID: 436383

Date: 13 February 2018 - 00:04

RNA - Here, the American rule perfectly applies to Iraq too. Throughout the most recent US war on Iraq, the massive damage done in the course of heavily bombing major cities and destroying bridges was seen as just another bill the US would be stuck with afterwards. The Trump administration doesn’t see it that way, however.

So while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be in attendance at next week’s Iraq reconstruction conference, US officials say he is not expected to offer up any American contribution to the estimated $100 billion in reconstruction Iraqi officials say they need. Rather, US officials say they will give “a little bit of free advice” and expect Iraq’s neighbours to “pour in money” as a way to improve their influence over the long term, and to try to limit Iran’s substantial influence inside Iraq!

At any rate, Iran didn’t “break” Iraq, so it shouldn’t be the one to pay the reconstruction bill – just as the way its military advisors died helping Iraq defend itself against foreign-backed terrorist groups and extremist outfits. Iraq doesn’t have that many non-Iran neighbours either, and while Saudi Arabia is likely to contribute to fix damage in some Sunni parts of Iraq, it’s probably not going to be just that. It will use it to extend its destructive influence all over again. With Iraq’s own budget stretched thin, repairing the parts of Iraq the US destroyed on the pretext of fighting ISIL is likely to be a very slow effort indeed:

If anything, there is always an argument that the illegal invasion by the United States and NATO allies carries the responsibility of rebuilding the nation of 23 million. Under International Law and UN Charter, the US must leave Iraq and at the same time contribute to international efforts to rebuild Iraq rather than focus on its permanent war on terror and occupation, considering Washington’s initial responsibility for “breaking” the country.

The US-led invaders broke Iraq by the initial invasion in 2003. They have done the same to Syria and even there they threaten the international civil society not to rebuild that war-torn country! But there is also another course of argument, which is if you broke it and have made a mess of rebuilding it, then get somebody else to do the rebuilding and stop using your money as a way to control that country’s political future forever.

So, it would be better if there was an international consortium that was helping out and the UN took the lead in all the reconstruction programs. That consortium will meet next week and Washington better be a part of it. That’s all really. No more post-reconstruction meddling and shenanigans. Just pay the money and go. The US and company cannot be allowed to get what they couldn’t through invasion and occupation – regime change and partition.

The same argument could be made about Iraq’s Arab neighbours. In a variety of ways, it is becoming clearer that the United Nations should also press Arab members of the US-led coalition to assume the major share of post-war reconstruction in Iraq. Given the way they aided and abetted ISIL and a host of other terror proxy forces in both Iraq and Syria (financial support, contribution of "material" to the allied militants, and their permission for terrorist use of territories for logistical tasks) these countries will have to play a very important part in that process as well. This includes helping to rebuild the entire country and not just the Sunni parts as a means to extent their influence and reach. They cannot be allowed to use their financial contribution to “break” the country again or pave the way for yet another campaign to divide and rule Iraq on sectarian lines.

More so, the persistent chaos in Iraq is mostly a function of continued occupation of that country by the United States – AND the financial backing of its Arab allies from various extremist Sunni groups and terror outfits. There should be something about apologies in the Pottery Barn Rule. It’s all about objects and ownership. But Iraq has never been simply a china shop. It is a country of people. When you break a person, do you own them? Of course not. And what the US and its allies did in Iraq was far from accidental. It was intentional.

According to Fars News Agancy, the world is not aware of any US administration that has apologized for its deadly military involvement in that country that killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein or fighting ISIL does not excuse the US of responsibility for that bloodshed. So, the US could start by apologizing for its mistakes.

Mind you, apologies are not sufficient and staring at the US-made wreckage won’t benefit anyone. There should also be an element of restitution. Just like its Arab allies, the US should (with no strings attached) contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq as well, such as clean up the environment from its cluster bombs and radioactive munitions, rebuild schools and hospitals, and repair what has been broken.

The brutal fact is that however this order is achieved, it's going to cost lots of money and tie up many military and civilian resources. Moreover, if the US and its Arab-NATO allies do not share the reconstruction costs, strains on the Iraqi government will increase. For good or ill, their illegal campaign has "broken" Iraq. The warmongers own it now and the results of not paying the price have the potential to be catastrophic for the country and the rest of the region. Simply put, the United States and its NATO-Arab allies cannot just expect others to rebuild Iraq and walk away from the problems they created there in the first place.

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