America has a history of mistreating the locals fighting on their side. Our giant clusterfuck in Iraq has little to do with not understanding the cultures in the region, and everything to do with simply not respecting them as fellow human beings. You don’t need a master’s degree in Near and Middle Eastern Studies to know that Iraqis don’t like to be raided at gunpoint, detained and tortured, or withheld pay for risking their lives. Meanwhile, the myth of a successful “surge” continues to work to the political advantage of American imperialists as it paves over any critical analysis of the conflict.

An investigation carried out by GuardianFilms for Channel 4 uncovers how thousands of Iraqis employed at $10 a day by the US to take on al-Qaida are threatening to go on strike because they say they have been used by the ‘Americans to do their dirty work’ and haven’t been paid.

h/t Steve from COA News