The true heart of darkness

By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

"......Leaving Baghdad at night, past curfew time, is one of the saddest experiences of our time. There are just a few dim lights down on the ground - as if the former pride and splendor of Islam are enveloped in a shroud. The only moving object is - what else - a serpentine US convoy about to go on a search-and-destroy mission in "normal life".

The Bush/Cheney half-trillion-dollar (so far) Iraq adventure razed to the ground an entire Arab state. Not just any Arab state; the cradle of civilization as we know it has been hurled back to medieval times (but with mobile phones for everyone; an Iraqna SIM card costs only US$10).

Blowback will be perennial: the "sanctions generation" - the angry young men who grew up deprived of everything during the 1990s - will never, ever forget it. Even if the Iraqi Parliament votes a timeline for the end of the occupation - as Sadrist leader Nasr al-Roubaie told Asia Times Online two weeks ago.

Iraq is and will remain the true heart of darkness of the early 21st century. Forget about Russia or China; now, finally, the administration of President George W Bush, the military-industrial complex and assorted armchair warriors can finally be assured that the United States has found an enemy for life. "