Can Iraq End the Colonial Era?
BOSTON — One of the most fascinating developments in the Middle East these days is the attempt by the US and Iraqi governments to negotiate an agreement defining the status of American troops in Iraq, including a target date for all US troops to leave by 2011. A critical issue still being negotiated is the liability and legal jurisdiction for American troops that stay in the country. This is important not only in the narrow sense of the legal status of American troops in Iraq, but also for wider issues related to relations between major Western powers and weaker Arab countries. In many respects, this is a moment of historical clarification and adjustment in the wake of over a century in which Western powers moved their armies around the Arab world at will, making and breaking Arab countries and political leaderships in the Arab world and Iran. The wider issue at stake beyond American soldiers in Iraq is the effective end of the colonial era mentality that put Western troops and offici
