On my order

“On my order the coalition army started to attack chosen targets in Iraq!” stated George W. Bush, on the 20. March 2003, 14 years ago. This unpopular American president, even with the help of his countless advisors, was never able to put together a plausible speech, but he could send his army to attack the “enemy”, who were, oh wonder, never too far away from any oil filed along the way. And so a war started, a war which changed the Middle East completely.

Just a few years before the beginning of this war, I was travelling through Iraq; because the impending fear of a near cataclysmic catastrophe was very well felt everywhere. I also visited the ancient city of Hatra, the city of the sun god and one of the only places in Iraq, which was under the protecting wings of UNESCO. This antique capital lies today forever lost in the desert of Al Jazeera, about 250 km north of Bagdad. At first, it was considered one of the strongholds from which they overlooked countless traveling merchants on the crossroads of the roaming caravans, but even 100 years BC, the mighty wall the place offered, was the guideline to erect a mighty city, and later these very walls were used as protection from a whole armada of the kingdom of Arabaya (Arabia), who sought shelter from the Roman Empire’s attacks. The settlement was encased with double walls and 160 guarding towers, the city itself was full of temples, which prayed to numerous gods and entities, and the wealth could be seen on every corner. This wealth was, of course, very enticing to the Roman Empire and in the 1. century AC, Rome send a mighty army to Hatra, with a famous war hero and later Caesar of the Empire amongst to lead the warriors, called Trajan. But alas! The sturdy city defended itself, and also countless other Roman attacks that followed. It only fell later on in the Persian raids, which burned the city to the very ground it stood on, so it could never regain its former glory.

After excessive excavations in the early 20. century and a lot of reconstructive work on some parts of Hatra, the city regained its former majestic beauty once more. But not for long… Religious fanatics of the Islamic state ISIS set their vengeful fury upon the city, in the true spirit of Taliban’s, and started to destroy the centuries old temples of this side of the world. Also Hatra… Of course, all in the name of the one and true God and the holy wars, because they were apparently symbols of godlessness and the devils work of other civilizations. But also ISIS, like every other religion of this world, lacks something fundamental – consistency! What is the most distinct symbol and personification of the rotten western capitalism? Yes, the American dollar, of course! Well, maybe even the Euro, Yen, Pound, or another currency for that matter. Well, have any of you heard that ISIS, in the consent of religious traditions, also destroys these symbols? That they burned the dollar in broad daylight? No! Just as you might have never heard that in the history of mankind the Spanish inquisition, which also acted in the name of God, stole the native Northern Americans’ heritage, ever threw away a piece of gold away, because it was considered to be the symbol of godlessness? Also never! On the contrary: these symbols are still used, robbed and piled up like always. I guess that every religious group’s principle isn’t that strong when it comes to wealth… Well, if you think about it hard enough, this very “value” is the fundamental building stone of every religion there is!

And a few photos of Hatra from that distant year in 2002, where the resolute Islamist Saddam ruled the lands, whereas the deeply religious Bush wanted to take away his oil fields at all costs. Of course, each of them had God on their side in time of war…