Foreign Policy Blogs

Monkeys, bananas and fear in Iraq

Joost Hiltermann (of the International Crisis Group) has a blog post at the New York Review of Books on the current climate in Iraq. The Supreme Court has certified the election results, but the country remains without a government, and it’s goal of having one by Ramadan (early August) or the planned withdrawal date of American troops (August 31) seems increasingly unrealistic. Hiltermann notes the widespread skepticism that characterizes Iraqis’ views on the political process, as well as outlining the tricky inter-relationships between parties.

At Niqash, where one can read news on Iraq in Arabic, English, and Kurdish, there are articles that underline both of these elements. First, an interview with Ameer al-Kinani, MP under the Sadrist umbrella, demonstrates just how tense relations between different political groups have become. You can see in this article how al-Kinani sort of switches off from emphatically invoking God’s approval of his party’s agenda and cagily leaving open alliances with essentially anyone but Maliki.

Another article, by Maria Fantappie, aggregates testimony from Iraqis on the influence of this kind of fear and uncertainty in their day-to day lives. She quotes an Iraqi source, “Saad”, in his explanation of the way Iraqis have learned to behave:

“Do you know the history of the monkeys in the cage?“ says Saad, who moved from Baghdad to live in Erbil few years ago.

“Four monkeys are in a cage, and someone puts a banana in the cage. When the strongest monkey catches the banana, immediately cold water is spilled over the four monkeys. Then, another banana is placed in the cage, and when the strongest monkey is on his way to catch it, all the other monkeys start to beat him fearing the cold water. Then, one monkey is substituted with a new one. Once again, when the banana appears, the three monkeys start to beat the new one who is willing to take the banana. Step by step, the four monkeys are substituted with new ones, and having learned from the old ones, they continue to beat the new monkey. Finally, none of them tries anymore to catch the banana.

“The story of monkeys explains why Iraqis, until today, have difficulties to overcome their fears after twenty-five years of oppression.” concludes Saad.

One has to wonder how this inheritance of fear translates into politicians’ strategizing. One also has to wonder how widely an explanation like Saad’s – founded on an unflattering comparison between Iraqis and monkeys – would be accepted within the country. Regardless, together these three pieces indicate that an end to political drama in Iraq is nowhere in sight.