Will Iraq Experience An Arab Spring?

A worker walks at Zubair oilfield in Basra, 260 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, on May 23. Iraqis are taking to the streets in protest to ask why millions are living in poverty in one of the most oil-rich nations in the world. Atef Hassan/Reuters

Iraq's Arab Spring: Protests Rise Against Persistent Poverty In Oil-Rich Nation -- Christian Science Monitor

Iraq claims to have the world's second-largest oil reserves, but 1 in 6 Iraqis live in poverty. Protests have already forced three provincial governors to resign.

While other Arab countries are rising up against dictators, Iraq’s is already gone – Saddam Hussein, toppled eight years ago, is now almost a distant memory for younger Iraqis. But Iraqis are taking to the streets to ask why millions are living in poverty in one of the most oil-rich countries in the world.

Cellphone repairman Majid Abdul Khalif, who is so patriotic he named his son Iraq and his daughter Baghdad, is incensed he can’t find a full-time job or buy a house.

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My Comment: The Iraqi government is experiencing the same problems that the U.S. occupation authority had when they took over the administration of the country after the fall of Saddam Hussein .... huge expectations from the population, but zero possibility of fulfilling their hopes. Hence the resentment and anger among many of the disadvantaged in Iraq.

As to the assertion that 1 in 6 Iraqis are dependent on Iraqi government assistance, need I remind my readers that 1 in 7 Americans are dependent on food stamps. And while poverty is horrible and pervasive in Iraq, they are not the only country that are experiencing this condition. Iraq's advantage is its oil wealth .... but how and when they develop this resource is something that only time and security conditions on the ground will determine.