Introduction


This story is a retelling of the past 26 years of U.S.-Iraqi relations (1980-2006), with the roles of the two countries reversed.

In this narrative, Megastan plays the role of America, America represents Iraq, Mexico is Iran, Cuba is Afghanistan, President Houston is Saddam Hussein, Malik Henna is George W. Bush, and so on. It is an attempt to explain and humanize what Iraqis have experienced during the past quarter-century. Some parallels will be painfully obvious while others represent events unknown or misunderstood by most Americans (including myself before I began this research).

References from respected historians, policymakers, journalists, scholars, and eye-witnesses are cited to explain most parallels. They can be accessed by clicking the underlined words in the text, which will cause a window to pop up with the proper reference. The references also appear at the end of each page and can be accessed by scrolling down to them.

The core of the narrative is based on Understanding Iraq, a compact history of Iraq written by William R. Polk.(1)

No analogy is perfect, and many herein are deeply flawed. They should be seen as nothing more or less than guideposts to steer us through the unfamiliar landscape of being a nation suffering under a brutal dictatorship, two devastating wars, and debilitating sanctions followed by a foreign invasion and occupation.

Feedback is welcome. Please send comments, questions, and corrections to pamolson (a) gmail.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. You are free—and encouraged—to copy, distribute, and display this work as long as you link to the original web address and do not use it for commercial purposes without author permission.


                               
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  1. William R. Polk taught Middle Eastern history and politics and Arabic at Harvard until 1961, when he became a member of the Policy Planning Council of the Department of State, responsible for the Middle East and North Africa. In 1965 he resigned to become Professor of History and Founding Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies of the University of Chicago. He was also a founding director of the American Middle Eastern Studies Association and has spent significant time on the ground in the Middle East. For more information, see his website.