Alistair Burt, a former Middle East minister, has said Iraq's leaders must take on the country's challenges and not simply hope that partners like the UK can play a greater role in the reconstruction of the state.
Almost 20 years after British troops took part in a coalition invasion of Iraq, Mr Burt said he is routinely asked why the UK government chooses to take a backseat role in the rebuilding of the nation and establishment of a post-Saddam democratic system. “I think it's perfectly clear now that the issue of the determination of the future of governance in Iraq will be quite properly in the hands of the Iraqi people and those who are elected and guiding them,” he said.
“It won't be in the hands of anyone from outside.”
The British Army maintains a presence in the country but this is solely in training capacity aimed at equipping local forces with the skills needed to prevent a resurgence of Isis.
In recent years and months Iraq has been blighted by a litany of issues including systemic corruption, high unemployment, poverty, mass protests and political crises.
Iraq’s parliament last month approved a new government set up by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, ending more than a year of deadlock. But challenges remain and despite Baghdad earning record oil income due to high crude prices, the country’s 42 million citizens live with many unknowns.
Mr Burt, who served as Middle East minister in the UK’s Foreign Office and international development minister from 2017 to 2019, pushed back against voices urging Britain to do more to alleviate Iraq's social and political problems.
Speaking at the Iraq Initiative conference at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, he argued against the theme of “it’s all our fault” and said it would not be Britain’s place to play a more central role.
He pointed to the series of demonstrations and civil disobedience that sprung up in 2019 in protest against corruption, political sectarianism, interventionism and lack of jobs. Mr Burt said the voices of the Iraqi people must be heard by the elite in Baghdad if the country is to move towards a promising future.
He suggested the UK’s role in Iraq today consists largely of encouraging elected officials to engage with Iraqis and listen to their concerns.
“Unless those voices are listened to, then the direction of governments will not be where Iraq needs to be and not be where Iraq will be secure,” he said. “[They are] the voices that need to be heard by government and that's what we’re doing.”
Jennifer Gavito, deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs at the US Department of State, struck a similar tone to Mr Burt. She told the audience that although the US intends to play a role in the reconstruction of post-war Iraq for years to come, it cannot provide the political will for change so many Iraqis are crying out for.
The US mission in Iraq formally concluded in December 2021.
On the question of how Iraq’s problems can be addressed, she said “the answer lies with the Iraqis not with a imposed solution”.
“We have invested heavily in providing the Iraqi security forces with the training needed in order to take on the mantle of security for its own country,” she said. “Political will is something that as Alistair notes, we can't provide.”
Anti-government demonstrations in Iraq - in pictures
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
ENGLAND SQUAD
For first two Test in India Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson , Dom Bess, Stuart Broad , Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.
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Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
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MATCH INFO
Liverpool 3
Sadio Man 28'
Andrew Robertson 34'
Diogo Jota 88'
Arsenal 1
Lacazette 25'
Man of the match
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Dunki
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
PAST 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2012 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2011 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2010 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Results
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m | Winner: ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Al Shamkhah, Royston Ffrench, Sandeep Jadhav
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m | Winner: Lavaspin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m | Winner: Kawasir, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m | Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m | Winner: Quartier Francais, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
