jordan pulse -

In an opinion piece for Rum News Agency, Dr. Rashid Al-Shashani offers a critical analysis of both the domestic corruption landscape in Iraq and the broader geopolitical maneuvers surrounding the country.
​Regarding the issue of corruption, the author argues that current efforts to combat financial corruption are superficial and fail to address the root of the problem: "administrative corruption." He characterizes the perpetrators as mafia-like networks that survive by shifting blame to their low-level associates. He asserts that true reform requires dismantling the systemic structure of these networks, rather than conducting performative raids that do not yield long-term results.
​Geopolitically, Al-Shashani analyzes the "Dawn of Iraq" military and security operation, questioning its declared objectives. He views the operation not as a genuine anti-corruption drive, but as a strategic maneuver by the US administration under Donald Trump to exert pressure on Iranian-backed factions. The author suggests that the US aims to use anti-corruption initiatives as a guise to destabilize these factions, effectively testing their resolve and creating the "flexibility" needed to realign regional security dynamics—a tactic he argues is also being applied in Yemen and Lebanon.
​The author further explores the regional dimensions, specifically noting Turkey's anxiety regarding potential Kurdish instability in the resulting chaos, as well as the broader implications for the Syrian border. He contends that the current approach represents both a political and military miscalculation, as it drives armed factions into a defensive corner rather than genuinely solving the administrative issues of the state.
​He concludes that these policies risk disrupting the balance of power, ultimately serving to entrench US influence and guardianship over the region in a manner that transcends the duration of the current presidential term.
​Rum News Agency