Next week President Obama will give a speech marking the official end of combat operations in Iraq, but, according to ABC News, he’ll stress that America’s mission there is not yet “accomplished.” But if the ability of Iraqi porn peddlers to sell their wares out in the open is any indication of the relative liberty and security the country has finally achieved, then perhaps America’s job is, at last, finally complete.
The porn, in an odd way, has told the story of Iraq’s security and political situation since Saddam Hussein’s ouster in 2003. It emerged in the anything-goes atmosphere that erupted in the vacuum immediately following the U.S. invasion — then went back into hiding amid the anarchy when armed militias roamed the capital through 2008, targeting those they saw as immoral.
Some of the porn being sold in the streets is hard-core. Some is just vaguely hot.
Either way, it’s clear that an American presence is no longer needed to maintain stability in Iraq. Now that Iraqis have become accustomed to a life wherein soft-core erotica starring the least successful Baldwin brother is readily accessible, they will simply not allow it to slip away.
Porn offers window into Iraq’s chaotic politics [AP via Google]
