The big lies of the Iraq war were not the faulty intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, or the fabricated link between Saddam Hussein and the events of September 11, 2001. More serious were the infantile fantasies, promoted by the Bush administration and its supporters, that the war would be a "cakewalk". They argued that it would require fewer than 100,000 troops and cost at most $2 billion (Dh 7.35 billion) - before Iraqi oil revenues kicked in to pick up the rest of the tab - and that it would all be over in six months.
This was a delusional, apocalyptic vision, projecting that out of the destruction of the old, a new order would rise. Americans were told that the dictator would fall and they would be greeted as liberators "with flowers in the street". Democracy would take hold and Iraq would become the "beacon of freedom for the Middle East". For good measure, they even predicted that regime change in Iraq would help solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ("the road to Jerusalem must pass through Baghdad").
Guided more by ideology than by reality, the Bush administration's veterans of the Project for a New American Century believed that a show of decisive force in Iraq would make the US stronger, securing America's global hegemony for the next century.
The tragic irony of this failed war, of course, is that it left the United States less respected, compromised American values and America's standing across the world, overstretched its military resources, emboldened its enemies, created openings for other nations to exert their influence and, in the end, left America more vulnerable.
It is disturbing to tally the damage done by the war. On the US side, more than 4,400 lives were lost, and tens of thousands of young men and women shattered by permanent injuries. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis perished and millions more had their livelihoods destroyed. One-fifth of Iraqis were forced to live as refugees or internally displaced persons, many of them forever unable to return to their homes.
In the midst of the vicious ethnic-cleansing campaign that followed the downfall of the Ba'ath regime came the destruction of the ancient Christian community of Iraq - a tragedy that went unnoticed by the Bush administration's architects of war.
Iraq today is a dysfunctional state beset by violent civil strife - a direct result of the American decision to enter the country without attention to its history and culture and, therefore, the inability to understand the consequences of that intervention.
Today, Iraq is on the verge of civil conflict. The leadership in Baghdad remains at odds with the Kurdish north, and a restive Sunni Arab minority chafes under what it perceives to be the harsh and exclusionary rule of an Iranian-backed Shia majority.
Polling by my company consistently shows that most Arabs see Iran as the big winner of the Iraq war. It has been empowered by the defeat of its regional nemesis and emboldened by widespread anger at the US war and American conduct during the war (Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, torture, rendition and "black sites").
In fact, the holes dug during the past decade have been so deep, and the problems created so great, that it has been difficult for even the best-intentioned president to dig the nation out.
The world breathed a sigh of relief when Barack Obama took the oath of office in 2009. People had great hopes that he would change direction by restoring America's image and values, ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and addressing the long-festering Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But the challenges proved to be too great for the new president to solve in just one term. Facing stiff opposition from Republicans in Congress and weak support from his own party, the president was unable to close the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, reintroduce fundamental principles like due process and judicial oversight, change US policy towards the Middle East, or restore civility to the nation's domestic political discourse.
Today, facing the challenges of an Arab world in crisis, the Obama administration finds its options restricted. The world has become more complex. Russia is flexing its muscles and Iran is projecting its influence - so much for the Project for a New American Century's promise of American hegemony.
Meanwhile, a war-weary US public remains sceptical of any further military involvement in the Middle East. And the still-simmering Israeli-Palestinian conflict has only become more difficult to resolve. It festered during eight years of neglect by the Bush administration, with the Israeli and Palestinian publics becoming hardened and cynical. Peace, once within reach, is now a distant dream.
Ten years after the start of the Iraq war, Americans are seeing the consequences of the fateful decisions made by the Bush administration to take the US into two failed wars and to neglect the peace process, and the inability of the Obama administration to correct the damage done by these policies. As a result, Americans and many people across the Middle East are still paying the price for the Bush administration's big lies and bad decisions.
James Zogby is the president of the Arab American Institute
On Twitter: @aaiusa
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
