US uses economic extortion to keep troops in its Iraq Roach Motel

US uses economic extortion to keep troops in its Iraq Roach Motel

The US has roughly 800 military bases round the world in 80 countries. Many are welcome by the host countries due to the influx of our tax dollars Uncle Sam squanders to maintain them.

But some are simply US roach motels. The troops go in unwelcome but when asked to leave…they never come out.

Case in point is Iraq, where US forces launched a dastardly invasion 21 and a half years ago. It largely ruined Iraq as a thriving nation, creating hundreds of thousands dead in its wake. President Obama declared an end to the Iraq war 13 years ago this December 15. But the US keeps a residual contingent of 2,500 US troops who continue to violate Iraqi sovereignty with their unwanted presence.

How unwanted? When the US assassinated a top Iranian commander and several Iraqis in a December 2020 Baghdad drone strike, Iraqi Parliament demanded the US leave. President Trump, followed by his successor Joe Biden just laughed off the continuing Iraqi demand. One of the reasons for staying was our Iraqi troop presence serves to support our unwanted 900 soldiers violating Syrian sovereignty to keep the Syrian oil from its rightful owner. That’s a US roach motel supporting a neighboring US roach motel.

Why doesn’t Iraq resist the unwanted US troop presence? Simple, the US has been holding Iraq’s foreign reserves in the Federal Reserve since our illegal 2003 invasion. This gives Uncle Sam control over Baghdad’s dollar supply and the ability to devalue the Iraqi dinar. The US also controls Iraq’s ability to pay its neighbor Iran for critically needed electricity.

But there are consequences for maintaining a roach motel in unwanted countries. All 2,500 troops in Iraq have targets on their backs thanks to whoever is their Commander In Chief. On August 29th, a US military operation against ISIS there inflicted injuries to 7 US soldiers.

No wonder much of the world outside of NATO and a few allies in the Far East are turning away from US unipolar dominance. They are joining BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Together they represent over half the world’s population and GDP. These non-aligned organizations refuse to bow US lust to control the world. They reject US disregard for sensible foreign policies and disrespect for national sovereignty.

Time for Uncle Sam to wise up least he find himself in a roach motel of his own making with no exit.