The Plundering of Iraq

April 15, 2003

The liberation of Iraq became the plundering of Baghdad. Hospitals were stripped bare. Government ministries, universities, state-owned factories and food distribution centers were ransacked and information records destroyed. The reknowned archeological museum was looted destroying the legacy of 5,000 years, while the library containing historic Islamic tracts was set ablaze. Meanwhile, U.S. forces stood by protecting only the Ministries of Oil and the Interior.

A destabilized Iraq sets the stage for U.S. rulers to impose a new regime comprised of the old repressive apparatus, such as the chief of Baghdad's police force. Meanwhile, contracts are awarded to Halliburton and other U.S. capitalist cronies to oversee the real looting of Iraq — the transfer of profits from Iraq's oil riches into the pockets of U.S. corporations. "The Plundering of Iraq"