Corruption Under U.S. Occupation ‘Far Worse Than Under Saddam’

How corrupt is it in today’s Iraq – even in what is thought to be the more well-run Kurdish north? According Rauf Naqishbendi who writes for the Kurdish Media in Iraq’s Kurdish Autonomous region:

“We have created a system of corruption far more corrupt than anything that existed during Saddam Hussein’s regime, and which is unprecedented in Iraqi history.”

And who does Naqishbendi hold responsible for this sorry state of affairs?:

“In essence, the prevailing corruption is due to America’s mismanagement in administering Iraqi affairs, and the emboldening of corrupt leaders who prey on the public interest.”

By Rauf Naqishbendi

June 26, 2008

Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq – Kurdish Media – Original Article (English)

There’s no substitute for effective, positive leadership in the life of any nation. Great leaders can lift a nation from despair and disappointment to hope and a re-kindling of belief that anything is possible. On the other hand, poor and ineffective leadership can deny a nation health and burden it with overwhelming difficulties. For a nation already on the precipice, the ascendancy of poor leadership can be fatal … ruinous.

A case in point is Iraq’s flourishing corruption under American occupation. The crooked behavior of Kurdish leaders casts a pall over the entire future of the Kurds. And nowhere is this more conspicuously manifest than in the barter of the rights of the Kurdish people in pursuit of monetary gain.

Two kings reign in Kurdistan: Masoud Barzani and Jalal Talibani [Masoud Barzani is President of the Autonomous Kurdish Government in Iraq and Jalal Talibani is President of Iraq]. Their claim to legitimacy is that they’ve been elected by the people. And it’s true that there was an election some years ago. As often happens, the choice was not so much about electing the better of the two candidates, but rather for the lesser of two evils. Now these two leaders have built a system whereby each leads their own political party, and to safeguard against dissension within the rank and file, they pick members of their executive committees from amongst loyal friends and members of their own families. Furthermore, these two political parties have control over every national resource. They also control iron-fisted militia so no one can effectively challenge or dispute their legitimacy. And ironically – despite their dictatorial rule – they call themselves democrats.

READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing foreign press coverage of how Iraqis view the Iraq War.