S8 Ep763: In 2019, the Tishreen uprising saw a young, trans-sectarian generation denounce the "kleptocratic elite" and government corruption. Despite brutal state violence that killed hundreds, the protests represented a rare moment of unity as Shia youth challen
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 April 2026
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
In 2019, the Tishreen uprising saw a young, trans-sectarian generation denounce the "kleptocratic elite" and government corruption. Despite brutal state violence that killed hundreds, the protests represented a rare moment of unity as Shia youth challenged their own religious and political leaders, with women playing an unprecedented role. Abdul-Ahadconcludes that while major violence has subsided, Iraq lacks true peace and accountability for the warlords and politicians who oversaw twenty years of devastation. (8)
1939 MARTYR'S BRIDGE
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is CBSI in the world with Haif Abdulahad. |
| 0:08.9 | A stranger in your own city travels in the Middle East long war. |
| 0:13.1 | Basra, 2019. |
| 0:15.3 | Baghdad, 2019. |
| 0:17.2 | But in this particular instance, it's dealing with the status quo ante, which is dominated by unemployment and anger at the ruling class. |
| 0:26.8 | I hope I have that right, right? |
| 0:28.5 | Anger at the ruling class. |
| 0:29.1 | Absolutely. |
| 0:29.8 | And who is the ruling class in 2019? |
| 0:32.5 | We are talking about a cliptocratic elite of party bosses, militia commanders, religious figures, |
| 0:41.7 | who have been siphoning according to different estimates around $20 billion a year |
| 0:49.3 | from the Iraqi budget during the last 20 years. These figures, these kind of political bosses, have created such a state of corruption in Iraq |
| 1:02.2 | that it's unbelievable. |
| 1:04.1 | I mean, you know, Iraq is not a poor state. |
| 1:05.9 | We have $100, $120 billion worth of oil every year. |
| 1:10.3 | But you go to certain parts of Baghdad, |
| 1:12.4 | that there's no water, no electricity, no employment, |
| 1:15.3 | let alone the south of the country. |
| 1:17.0 | So it's this young generation, |
| 1:18.6 | a young generation that grew up after 2003. |
| 1:21.9 | They were promised democracy. |
| 1:23.5 | They were promised prosperity. |
... |
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