Washington favors protests in the Middle East.

Is Arab Spring 2 close?

2019 is the year of mass protests around the world. The Arab world is no exception. Lebanon called popular discontent unprecedented, in Iraq people take to the streets, despite the stiff suppression of unrest by the authorities and hundreds of those killed. In Egypt, Algeria, and Sudan, protests have not declined for several months.

In the Iraqi and Lebanese protests, people express dissatisfaction with the increase in corruption and unemployment that came as a result of US sanctions, blame the entrenched system in which government posts are allocated according to quotas for religious groups rather than merit.

“From Iraq to Beirut — one revolution, and it will not die,” the slogans in Beirut sound.

As a result of the American occupation of the Iraqi Arab Republic, a state was destroyed in which Iraqi Sunnis played the backbone role. The entire state apparatus and army were cleansed on a confessional basis. This was one of the reasons for the emergence of ISIS in the so-called “Sunni triangle” centered in the city of Falluja.

As for the Shiite south, over time, he almost completely came under the control of Iran. In turn, the Kurds in the north of the country declared autonomy and in fact do not submit to Baghdad. The state artificially cobbled together by the British colonial administration was again deeply divided according to ethnic and religious principles. Washington made a gross geopolitical mistake by breaking this strategic barrier to Iran’s expansion in the region.

During the occupation of Iraq by American troops killed more than a million inhabitants of the country, the city of Faruja was completely destroyed.

The regime imposed by the States established power on the ground with the help of “death squads”: former Baath Party functionaries and officers of the Saddam army went over to the side of ISIS. Having smashed the apparatus of the ruling Baath Party, the Americans relied on corrupt and incompetent Shiite politicians, including emigrants from Europe and Iran, who had no roots in the country at all.

During the war with ISIS, thousands of settlements were destroyed, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis became internal (and external) refugees. The country is still dependent on the UN in the field of food supplies, many regions are starving.

Iraqi Kurdistan, with its oil resources, has effectively separated from the rest of Iraq and has become a US protectorate. Kurds and Americans share oil money; Baghdad does not receive anything.

Washington is pumping out the oil resources of southern Iraq and fueling internal conflicts to weaken the government, which is heavily influenced by Iran.

The protests in Lebanon are also in the interests of the United States, since a change in the political regime in this country may affect the reduction of the influence of their geopolitical opponent Iran in the Middle East. Lebanese rebellion is reinforced by US sanctions against Iran. Washington has repeatedly called on Tehran to stop sponsoring terrorist organizations and Shiite armed groups, including Hezbollah, and not interfere in the internal affairs of Middle Eastern states, including Lebanon. Despite the sanctions, the Ayatollah regime does not comply with the requirements of the Americans. Now the Lebanese themselves demand changes that are not possible as long as Hezbollah rules the country. The protesters were supported by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and called for the formation of a new effective government in Lebanon, economic reforms and the fight against corruption.

The technocratic government in Lebanon benefits the Trump administration to implement the peace plan of the adviser and son-in-law of US President Jared Kushner. It is planned to allocate $ 6 billion to Lebanon in the form of loans and private investments to create new jobs. It is one thing if this money is used for its intended purpose, another thing if it becomes the object of cutting corrupt officials.

Current events are not the first explosion of protest, countries are in a state of continuous political and ethno-confessional crisis. However, now there is an approaching “point of no return”, beyond which a final violation of the statehood of both states is possible. The southern part of Iraq is under the control of Baghdad. Northern Kurdistan has almost become independent. Dissatisfaction is also growing in Iraq with the actions of Iran, which has armed and organized powerful paramilitary forces, not inferior to the Iraqi army. Almost placed under the control of Iran is the south of the country.

In Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets, demanding the resignation of a government dominated by pro-Iranian factions

As in Iraq, protests focus on local complaints

“The protests in both Iraq and Lebanon are mainly related to local politics and the corrupt political class, which could not provide a decent standard of living. The protests demonstrate the failure of the proxy management model, when Iran can expand its influence, but its allies cannot effectively manage.

The US, and some countries in the region are trying to take advantage of the wave of protests