Tom Bogaert

Tom Bogaert http://tombogaert.org/ art and international affairs en Copyright 2012, Tom Bogaert Wed, 8 Feb 2012 12:31:01 -0500 Impression, proche orient 5 | Iraq: Empire state-building <img border="0" src="http://tombogaert.org/static/dyn-images/42/42712.jpeg" alt="from NYU paper, June 2008 - Tom Bogaert" height="450" width="335" /> ==================== 2008-2012 British troops first invaded what was to become Iraq in November 1914. At the League of Nations San Remo conference in April 1920 the British Empire committed itself to state-building in Iraq. It was state-building by imperialistic outsiders (`Empire state-building'): an external intervention into a foreign territory that attempted to legitimate itself in terms of betterment of the population it claimed to be helping. This exogenous state-building was `top down': driven by dynamics, personnel and ideologies that had their origins completely outside the society they were operating in. By the time of its independence in 1932 however, Iraq could neither defend itself against its neighboring states, nor impose order unassisted across its territory. The State the British had tried to build in Iraq turned out to be quasi-state, dependent for it survival on a system of international guarantees and protection. One year before Iraq's independence, the Empire State Building in New York City was officially opened. On May 1, 1931 United States President Herbert Hoover turned on the building's lights with the push of a button from Washington, D.C. The building drawings for the Empire State Building were produced in just two weeks, using earlier designs for the Reynolds Building in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as a basis. Even though the building was designed `top down' , the construction itself was done from the ground up and was based on solid foundations. To this day, the empire state building remains a construction feat that invokes awe and wonder. The US invasion of Iraq - shock and awe - in March 2003 marked the second time in Iraq's 85 years history that imperialistic intervention, justified in the name of state-building, has failed to deliver on the promise of creating stable, sustainable and democratic institutions. After the enemy was paralyzed in shock and awe, the battle for the hearts and minds could start... http://tombogaert.org/work/view/1744/11108