Iraq's Moral Deficit
Iraqis have the moral and historical responsibility to find an agreed-upon national project, if they want to save their country from collapse.
Iraq has a Constitution, but not the mechanism needed to apply it. Iraq has parties competing for power, but no parties that can manage the conflict while maintaining social peace and the country’s unity. Iraq has great political proposals about citizenship, the rule of law, public freedoms and social justice, but no political project able to achieve all of those principles.
This is Iraq’s reality, more than 10 years after the end of the totalitarian regime and the start of the political process — which is still confused — fraught with uncertainty and mired in dangers and setbacks.
Iraq’s ruling political elites have clearly failed, and the security situation is collapsing. So far this year, more than 7,000 civilians have been killed and several times that number have been injured.
Iraqi public services have failed. So has the reconstruction of the country, which has been ravaged by long wars. Democratic mechanisms and the sound transfer of power have also failed. The country is drowning in partisan and sectarian quota systems, corruption and power grabs.
