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Iraq
The US Capitol is seen behind security barriers in Washington, DC on January 16, 2021, four days before US President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration as the 46th president. Photo: Nicholas Kamm / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The creation of a militarized “Green Zone” around the US Capitol days ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, has, to the ire of many, prompted comparisons to the high-security international area created in central Baghdad after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The US Secret Service announced on Thursday that they would be expanding a security perimeter established around the seat of the American government in Washington DC, which was stormed by rioters earlier this month.
The unprecedented "Green Zone" in DC sparked controversy on social media, with many people comparing it to the Iraqi capital’s famed fortified zone, which continues to be on high alert due to frequent rocket attacks and other security threats.
CNN host Wolf Blitzer said he "spotted National Guard troops at a normal Washington street corner not even near the Capitol. So many streets have been closed," saying it reminded him of "war zones in Baghdad or Mosul or Fallujah".
The sentiment was shared by British-American academic journalist Michael Tracey, who tweeted that "the Secret Service is honest-to-god calling the most heavily fortified portion of DC the "Green Zone." Maybe by Wednesday it'll just be "Mini Baghdad" for maximum irony."
Responding to the comparisons, journalist Rasha al-Aqeedi suggested that the Iraqi cities’ common association with war was dehumanizing.
Faisal Etani, the Deputy Director at the Center for Global Policy's Non-State Actors and Geopolitics, said the comparison "trivializes what Baghdad and much of the rest of the planet are actually like".
US president Donald Trump was impeached on Wednesday by Congress for a second time, charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the mob that sieged the Capitol.
The US Secret Service announced on Thursday that they would be expanding a security perimeter established around the seat of the American government in Washington DC, which was stormed by rioters earlier this month.
The unprecedented "Green Zone" in DC sparked controversy on social media, with many people comparing it to the Iraqi capital’s famed fortified zone, which continues to be on high alert due to frequent rocket attacks and other security threats.
CNN host Wolf Blitzer said he "spotted National Guard troops at a normal Washington street corner not even near the Capitol. So many streets have been closed," saying it reminded him of "war zones in Baghdad or Mosul or Fallujah".
The sentiment was shared by British-American academic journalist Michael Tracey, who tweeted that "the Secret Service is honest-to-god calling the most heavily fortified portion of DC the "Green Zone." Maybe by Wednesday it'll just be "Mini Baghdad" for maximum irony."
Responding to the comparisons, journalist Rasha al-Aqeedi suggested that the Iraqi cities’ common association with war was dehumanizing.
Because Baghdad, Mosul, and Fallujah can only be war zones. The beings that live there are subhumans who don't require decency or normalcy. https://t.co/Fiob8jBxKC
— Rasha Al Aqeedi (@RashaAlAqeedi) January 15, 2021
Faisal Etani, the Deputy Director at the Center for Global Policy's Non-State Actors and Geopolitics, said the comparison "trivializes what Baghdad and much of the rest of the planet are actually like".
US president Donald Trump was impeached on Wednesday by Congress for a second time, charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the mob that sieged the Capitol.
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