March 20 marks the 9th year of invasion of a land on false excuses to remove a dictator no longer required by the imperial invaders. People of Iraq suffered for years under dictatorship, and were then forced to live under an exported democracy, which has been enforced through bombings, killings and plundering of its natural resources.

The UN's 'justice' first caused the deaths of thousands of children due to sanction on Iraq, and then this international body kept silent about the invasion of the land by the US and its allies. Newborns in Fallujah show abnormal birth defects as a result of using depleted uranium. The crimes of Abu Ghraib prison have already exposed the ugly face of the imperialist occupiers. To date, ordinary citizens in Iraq are suffering from the carnage that the war of terror has brought upon them. At the advent of this war, the Western imperialist had claimed that they would bring 'Freedom' and 'Democracy'. And the world has already seen what they meant.

Iraq has seen both dictatorship and democracy, and neither has liberated its citizens. However, this has not always been the case. Historically, the region of Iraq was once the center of a great civilisation.

Baghdad was one of the finest and largest planned cities of its time, built in 762 by Caliph Al Mansur. The city also eclipsed 'Ctesiphon', the capital of Persian Empire. Under the Caliphate, the House of Wisdom was established, which was dedicated to translate Greek, Syriac and Persian works into Arabic. Scholars from all over the Caliphate used to converge in Baghdad for this scholarly work. Moreover, it was in Tikrit, where Saladin Ayubi was born.

Today while Iraq has the world's 4th largest oil reserves, its government struggles to even provide basic amenities to the population. Quite clearly, the political system sponsored by the West, be it democracy or dictatorship has

failed. And if lessons are to be learned from history, Caliphate is the political system, which had made the region of Iraq and beyond a global power and a cradle of civilisation to reckon with.

Syed Shariq

Lahore, Pakistan