Postcolonial economies under siege: Iraq’s investment plea vs. Lebanon’s occupation-induced collapse—how neoliberalism and militarism deepen regional instability
Original framing: “Zaidi calls for economic investment in Iraq as Salam urges Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon” — Middle East Eye
The Assyrian and Chaldean communities in Iraq—descendants of Mesopotamia’s indigenous populations—face erasure in Zaidi’s reforms, as their land rights (e.g., Nineveh Plains disputes) are sidelined for oil contracts. Similarly, Lebanon’s Druze and Shia villages near Shebaa Farms have oral histories of Israeli land theft dating to 1982, but these narratives are absent from 'governance' discussions. Indigenous knowledge here exposes how 'economic investment' often means dispossession for non-Arab ethnic groups.
The Iraq-Lebanon crises are not isolated failures of governance but symptoms of a **postcolonial debt-occupation complex**, where IMF austerity and Israeli militarism serve as tools to fragment resistance.
Zaidi’s investment plea and Salam’s withdrawal demand are both responses to the same geopolitical script: external actors (US, Gulf states, Israel) use economic and military leverage to prevent regional unity. Historical precedents—from Sykes-Picot to the 2003 Iraq invasion—show how 'reform' and 'occupation' are two sides of the same colonial coin. The solution lies in **indigenous sovereignty** (e.g., Assyrian resource control), **debt-to-peace swaps**, and **truth commissions** that expose how current policies are designed to maintain perpetual instability. The trickster reveals the absurdity: the 'heroes' of today’s headlines are the villains of tomorrow’s history books.