US role in spread of terrorism in the world: Iraq
The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 on the pretext of eliminating weapons of mass destruction in the Middle Easter country that were never found after the overthrow of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
After the US invasion, a brutal terrorism was unleashed in Iraq causing deaths of thousands and damages to tangible and intangible heritage of the country.
According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2015, Iraq was the world's most terrorized country in 2014. The report said more than 32,000 people were killed by terrorism in 2014, with Boko Haram and the Daesh (so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) terror groups accounting for more than half of the deaths.
At least 9,929 deaths were reported in Iraq in 2014 with analysts attributing the rise of terrorism in the country to the US-led invasion in 2003, after which the number of deaths due to terrorism quintupled.
The number of deaths also increased following the rise of the Daesh, Known for its brutal attacks on Iraqi and Syrian civilians and their attempts to cleanse religions and ethnic groups not affiliated to their cult. According to GTI, Daesh was responsible for 95% (5,436) of deaths resulting from claimed terrorist attacks in 2014.
Besides human losses due to terrorism in Iraq, the country also witnessed demolition of many historical sites by the terrorist group. According to some repots, the terrorist group rob many antiques before demolishing the historical sites and sold them in international markets to finance their terror machine.
Since the rise of the Daesh thousands of Iraqis have been forced to leave their homes and take refuge inside or outside the country.
The United States and some regional Arab countries are the main supporters of the Daesh. It is an irony that the United States claims to fight the Daesh, but many reports indicate that as soon as the Iraqi forces get an upper hand the US airdrops weapons boxes to assist the terrorist group to prevent their defeat. Also it is not a hidden fact that some regional Arab countries are the main coffer of the Daesh war machine.
It must be borne in mind that the same terrorist group will target their today’s supporters in the future, just like the Al-Qaeda. The US and other supporters of the Daesh must take a lesson from the past and stop their support of terrorism as soon as possible to allow peace and tranquility return to the region.
Translated by: Sadroddin Musawi
