Pomp and Pompeo

The top American diplomat is blaming Iran for the protests that have been taking place across the Middle East. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleges that Iran is the uniting factor behind protests in Iraq, Lebanon, and Iran itself. But while protesters themselves have claimed that the issues they are rallying against are corruption, inflation and other economic concerns, Pompeo is claiming it is opposition to Iran’s clerical regime. Pompeo is right, but only to an extent. Yes, some protesters have been critical of Iran’s role in their domestic politics, but those same protesters have also been critical of the interference from the US, Russia, the Saudis, and others. In Iraq, one must remember that it was the US that backed Saddam Hussein after his rise to power and throughout the Iran-Iraq war until they eventually deposed him for becoming a liability. This birthed Daesh, which went on to tear up Syria and Iraq and remains a legitimate threat. Iran did not do any of this. It was America’s gift to the Middle East.

About Lebanon, Pompeo claims, “They want Hezbollah and Iran out of their country, out of their system as a violent and a repressive force.” But Hezbollah was born in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the 1980s. Israel’s aggressions have always been the hill all US leaders seem to be ready to die on. Unsurprisingly, they blame Lebanon’s problems on a group that regional leaders call “an integral faction of the Lebanese community”, and who Lebanese people say is doing a “better job than anyone else in defending Lebanese interests”. They have to. Their only other option is to blame Israel or Saudi Arabia, which President Donald Trump wouldn’t stand for. In fact, it is only in Iran where the protesters have directly opposed Iranian clerics. Yet, even here, most opposition has been targeted at austerity policies which the government was forced to adopt after the US violated the nuclear deal. Seems like a pattern. 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2019.

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