Brutality is not the the only villain in Iraq, corruption shares a strong link with it

Is the only issue in Iraq limited to poverty and violence? Majorly, one might be confused with it but recent developments in the country prove that is not the case. The majority of the income that people earn is controlled by militia groups, threatening the life patterns of the general people.  

On Tuesday, a study concluded that the militia groups deeply penetrated in Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces use various unethical moves in order to protect their earnings that they derive from corruption happening all over the country. They resort to threats, kidnappings, and numerous other forms of violent behaviors to get the benefit of the deep-rooted corruption in the nation. 

Yes, you read that right. Most of the coverage that Iraq receives is about violence, terrorism, crimes, or poverty and that hides the real culprit behind the whole system--corruption. The corruption is embedded in the system so smoothly that from the top level of officers to the workers, are unable to differentiate between corrupt practices. 

It was only last month when the Iraqi Prime Minister, left with no choice, accepted that since 2003 Iraq has lost nearly $150 billion to corruption. He said when the country was heading towards a more transparent approach in handling the functioning of the public sector. 

It was a joint call of the United Nations Development Program Iraq and the European Union Mission in Iraq, who believed that through this initiative civil society will be playing a more active role in curbing corruption in the country.

In the virtual meeting, the economic advisor to the Iraqi PM, Al-Hakim also asserted that there is a major fault in the administrative services of the nation. “Combating corruption requires a joint and unified effort from the Iraqi government, state institutions, and the Iraqi society,” he added. 

Since then, numerous reports have been pointing at the failed administrative structure of the country. One of the surveys showed that Iran ranks among the bottom 20 nations when it comes to the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Even Hakim stressed that the employees who are working on the bottom level begin to practice corruption as they start to step up the ladder. 

Civil servants have joined hands with the Iraqi politicians and are manipulating data, documents in exchange for money. It has become increasingly easy to manipulate the statistics in exchange for paper bucks. But many were surprised to find that there is absolutely no conflict within the system. 

How can it be possible that no one has problems with these practices? One of the experts in the matter answered that it is because everyone is getting the benefit of the system. Maya Gebeily, a Middle East correspondent, said that they will finally identify the issue when it starts to hamper the economy. 

She also noted that even those who refuse to be part of this system are forcefully dragged into the deep waters. They are threatened, they have their families attacked and the torture continues till they give and become a part of corruption, she said. 

But who is it that attacks them? It should not be a surprise that it is the militia group. They want the corruption to continue so that they can avail themselves of the benefits and they will stop at nothing to harm those who come in the middle. Kata’ib Hezbollah, one of the most dangerous and active militia groups in the country as well as the region, is responsible for such a level of threat.  

They were the ones who were reportedly involved in attacking US troops and kicking them out of the country so that they could take over the entire country and continue with their violent acts. Their activities prove how closely violence and corruption are interlinked in the country. If these militia groups continue to spread terror, in no time the whole Iraqi administration will collapse due to corruption, leaving the government powerless.