Iraq's Failing Government
October 4, 2007

Irvine, CA--In the wake of General Patraeus's report, the Iraqi government has come under fire for failing to govern and police the country. Sectarian death squads, for example, fearlessly slaughter their victims, and in one town Islamists set up a Taliban-like theocracy--all under the nose of the local authorities and national government. President Bush himself signaled his dismay at how Iraq's government has performed, and implored it to do more.

"But the deplorable conduct of Iraq's government should not be surprising," said Elan Journo, analyst at the Ayn Rand Institute.

"A proper government is one that protects individual rights; it ensures your freedom from the initiation of physical force by others. The principle of such a government--the principle of individualism--holds that every man is an independent, sovereign being, that he is not an interchangeable fragment of the tribe; that his life, liberty, and possessions are his by right, not by the permission of any group. But so many of Iraq's politicians are ethnic or religious collectivists, who regard the individual as subservient to the clan, tribe, sect. To them government is not the means of protecting individual rights, but of arrogating power to their group and wielding their sword over others. And as part of its suicidal crusade to bring Iraqis the vote, Washington avidly encouraged Iraqis to believe that their tribalism and devotion to Islam were legitimate foundations for a new government.

"So, Iraqis brought to power Islamists who are vehemently anti-American--an outcome that Bush had blessed in advance ('democracy is democracy' he explained). The current prime minister, like several of his predecessors, owes his job to the Islamist warlord-cleric Moktadr al Sadr, whose Madhi army has fought against American forces. Indeed, many politicians are little more than stooges for the various clans, sectarian groups, and private militias that operate their own death-squads with impunity. Little wonder that Iraq's leaders have neither enacted rational laws, nor enforced the rule of law, while armed tribal and sectarian gangs savagely eradicate their rivals.

"If Iraqis are ever to achieve a proper government they must learn that their current ideas and practices are incompatible with freedom and peace. They must recognize that they need to adopt the ideal of individualism."

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Elan Journo is available for interviews. To interview Mr. Journo or book him for your show, please e-mail media@aynrandcenter.org

For more articles by Elan Journo, and his bio, click here.