Impasse . . .

Not a very nice title to start the new year. But an Impasse it is. And it shall remain so.

The deadlock of the Iraqi political process is not a coincidence, nor a mishap, nor wrong strategy, nor miscalculations; the Iraqi impasse is a natural outcome, a planned outcome, a wished outcome.

Failure to understand that, will always lead to a skewed view.

When the Americans invaded Iraq with a sectarian ethnic agenda, they knew in advance that the Shiite parties will have the upper hand, and will always control the political process. When the Americans came forward with bogus figures like Iraq is 60% Shiite, 20% Sunni, 20% Kurd, this ethnic sectarian division was the crux of the agenda. When the Americans encouraged, and extra funded the so-called Iraqi opposition, back during Clinton’s era, knowing full well that most of this opposition was exiled in Iran, they knew exactly what the outcome would be. When both Right and Left, when both the neocons like Perle, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, as well as the disgraceful left of Chomsky, spoke of some alleged oppression of Shias and Kurds in Iraq, they knew exactly what they were doing . . .

The Impasse is totally expected, a natural, normal outcome.

What is not normal though, is Iraqi stupidity. A stupidity that still baffles me.

When I heard some Iraqis say back in 2003: “OK now they got rid of him (Saddam Hussein) let them leave,” I used to jump from my chair possessed by the need to slap into sanity.

Why would Americans cross oceans with the largest movement of artillery and men since World War II, just for the love of your Freedom? How could you have been so stupid and so shortsighted! Did you not read history?! Did you not read your OWN history?!

Well your History is being written now, but not by you. And that’s a fact you will never be able to escape. Political process, reconciliation all that jargon is useless. You are not the writers of your own History anymore.

Friday, in Adhamiya part of the “Soooneee Triangle” (hope you managed to pronounce right by now), there were celebrations to mark the “day of Evacuation,” the day we evacuated the American barbarians. Yes, we did evacuate them, it did not look this way in your headlines and news captions, but 8 years of Resistance by a small group, a grassroots’ group taught your brave little boys a lesson they will never recover from.

It is normal that we defend our land and our homes against barbarity. If you have any dignity or honor, you would have done the same. We are not the slaves of America.

So Friday in that Sunni neighborhood, which was a stronghold of the Iraqi Resistance, people celebrated, this day of Evacuation. They invited Shias to participate. No one turned up.

The Shias on the other hand celebrated today calling it a “day of Fulfillment.”

One calls it EVACUATION, the other calls it FULFILLMENT.

Re-read what I said earlier, the promise by America to the Shiite parties and their supporters has been fulfilled. The promise to Iran has been fulfilled. That is another inescapable fact. But just as we are not slaves of America, we are not slaves of Iran either.

Truth of the matter is that the Silent Majority of Iraqis do NOT want Shiite party rule, nor do they accept Kurdish independence.

Truth of the matter is that the Silent Majority of Iraqis do not care what the sect of the Ruler is, Sunni, Shiite or Martian, but they do care not to be ruled by Shiite parties.

This “democratic” theocracy is a stranger to us. We are essentially a secular people, we have intermarried for generations, and you will not be able to reverse that part of our story so easily.

You see, there’s something you missed here, you came with an agenda for an Impasse and our refusal for your agenda has become our Resistance.

What looks like our Impasse, is in fact yours.

Layla Anwar’s blog is An Arab Woman Blues—Reflections in a sealed bottle where this was first pubished.