Iraq: Blaming the Rain for Iraq’s Corruption

Nov 23, 2018 | Claude Salhani, Arab Weekly
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Iraq, like many Arab countries, is plagued by rampant corruption at nearly all levels of government. Many public servants, from the policeman directing traffic at the corner of the street to the office of the highest authority in the land, are open to accepting bribes. Every few years we hear of a new government being formed in Iraq, Lebanon or Jordan, to name but a few, whereupon being sworn in the new prime minister vows to fight corruption. Sometimes there is a cabinet post created with the specific task to eliminate corruption. That is far easier said than done. There are two basic reasons why corruption and bribery are so common in the Arab world.