Occupy Iraq









             If you have been hiding under a rock this year, one thing you need to know is that the United States is still occupying Iraq. American troops have--for the most part--been withdrawn from Iraq and the United States is using drones (an unmanned aerial vehicle)  in order to target isolated terrorist groups such as ISIL. According to PBS.org, ISIL is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant that seeks civil unrest in Iraq and the establishment of a single transnational Islamic state based on Sharia.  (PBS) President Obama revealed his plan for combating ISIL on September 10, 2014, just one day shy of the thirteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. My analysis took a look at the United States' superiority through the looking glass of the neocolonialism method by analyzing the three characters of the speech: the United States, ISIL, and Iraq.

           Neocolonialism stems from the past colonialism, when settlers would take new lands for colonies, set up their culture there, and force their culture on the natives, as was the case with Native Americans in the United States. Today, there is no new land to discover in order to make colonies. Neocolonialism is more subtle than colonialism. Neocolonialism is the use of economical and contemporary ideological strategies in order to allow one culture dominate another. In the case of Obama's speech, neocolonialism would be the United States using economical and contemporary ideological strategies in order to ensure they remain superior to Iraq.

           One of the most interesting points I found while analyzing was a quote Obama gave from one of the civilians United States' troops save from a distant mountain: "We owe our American friends our lives. Our children will always remember that there was someone who felt our struggle and made a long journey to protect innocent people." I argue that Obama's uses this quote in order to depict the United States as the hero with the duty of protecting Iraq. The story refers to Americans as friends, and what do friends do for one another? They have each others' backs. That is what Obama is saying.

My other most interesting find was the ideology that the United States has a duty to spread its culture to the other ends of the world. Obama says, “Abroad, American leadership is the one constant in an uncertain world.” This is a bold statement saying that America is leading the entire world, and in turn, the whole world should follow. To read or hear more of Obama's speech, check it out here.