Last week, while visiting Baghdad, I spoke with Hussein Barood, the elected spokesman of the Iraqi Movement for the Belt-and-Road Initiative.
For years, the movement Barood represents has advocated for Iraq to become a fully-fledged participant in China’s Belt-and-Road Initiative. The U.S. government, however, has sought to obstruct Iraq’s participation in China’s initiative.
According to Barood, the U.S. controls Iraq’s oil revenues and uses that control to infringe upon Iraq’s sovereignty. One way in which the U.S. has exploited that control is to impose Western-style neoliberalism on Iraq.
Hussein also explained that, despite a resolution by Iraq’s Parliament calling for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq, the U.S. military remains entrenched in the country. In fact, since October 7, 2023, the U.S. has actually increased the number of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Hussein also contends that ISIS is a creation of the United States, and that Wahhabism is a creation of the British. He says that the U.S. and British governments use ISIS and Wahhabism to create divisions among the peoples of the West Asia, and as an excuse to keep their forces in the region.
Part 1 of my discussion with Hussein Barood
My discussion with Barood consists of two parts.
In Part 1, Barood and I sit down for a wide-ranging discussion about the U.S. government’s stranglehold on Iraq’s resources, economy and political system.
You can watch and listen to Part I here:
Part 2 of discussion with Hussein Barood
In Part 2, Barood and I toured some of the areas of Baghdad that have been affected most deeply by the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
You can watch and listen to Part II here:
