The former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan has recently, once again, attributed the turmoil presently gripping Iraq to the 2003 predominantly Anglo-American invasion of Iraq and the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime.
Annan refers to the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq Paul Bremer’s short-sighted decision to completely dismantle the Iraqi security forces which, to him, was what critically weakened the Iraqi state and led to the crisis we are presently faced with. Or, in his words,
“You cannot disassociate the situation in Iraq today from the US intervention in 2003. Because not only did the intervention take place, but they dismantled the Iraqi Army, which was the tool of Saddam to maintain law and order. The civil service, the Baathist Party were all [dismantled].
So the structures and state institutions vanished overnight, creating a very serious vacuum, which has led to where we are today. So I don’t think anybody can argue with that. The link is clear.”
Annan refers to the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq Paul Bremer’s short-sighted decision to completely dismantle the Iraqi security forces which, to him, was what critically weakened the Iraqi state and led to the crisis we are presently faced with. Or, in his words,
“You cannot disassociate the situation in Iraq today from the US intervention in 2003. Because not only did the intervention take place, but they dismantled the Iraqi Army, which was the tool of Saddam to maintain law and order. The civil service, the Baathist Party were all [dismantled].
So the structures and state institutions vanished overnight, creating a very serious vacuum, which has led to where we are today. So I don’t think anybody can argue with that. The link is clear.”
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