Colonialism in Iraq

The newest Tomdispatch, "Colonizing Iraq: The Obama Doctrine?" by Michael Schwartz, released on Thursday, was conveniently timed to follow up on a drunken argument i had on Wednesday night.  I was trying to talk about the Iraq War with a bunch of hipsters (some of them remarkably eloquent), and one in particular couldn't conceive of the application of new-age imperialism, whether it be called neocolonialism, neoliberal colonialism, or anything else.  Thankfully Dr. Schwartz and Mr. Englehardt come around the next day to arm me with an abundance of evidence.

Schwartz's point is fairly succinct:

"Traditional colonialism was characterized by three features: ultimate decision-making rested with the occupying power instead of the indigenous client government; the personnel of the colonial administration were governed by different laws and institutions than the colonial population; and the local political economy was shaped to serve the interests of the occupying power. All the features of classic colonialism took shape in the Bush years in Iraq and are now, as far as we can tell, being continued, in some cases even strengthened, in the early months of the Obama era."

Following this is a detailed point by point breakdown of how Americans still control Iraq in matters military and economic.  I think that the scariest point the author makes is how the occupation of Iraq is beginning to resemble the occupation of Palestine.  (However, i would argue that the authors phrase "may have been borrowed" does not come close to indicating the level of collusion between Israel and America in Iraq):

"Recently, the occupation has also been appropriating various streets and roads for its exclusive use (an idea that may have been borrowed from Israel's 40-year-old occupation of the West Bank). This innovation has made unconvoyed transportation safer for embassy officials, contractors, and military personnel, while degrading further the Iraqi road system, already in a state of disrepair, by closing useable thoroughfares."

Once Again, thank you Tomdispatch.com for not fearing the truth.