In the old Iraq, the Saddam regime subjected all scientific activities to military considerations. Satellite pictures were used to locate the troop movement and to identify the positions of the enemy during the Iraq-Iran War(1980-1988). Satellite pictures were also used by the regime to dry out the Arab Marsh in the south as means of punishing the locals for expressing their opposition. While using the latest technology for war purposes, the regime refused to resort to space technology to meet urgent economic and demographical needs, such as expanding agricultural lands or establishing green zone to protect the main urban centers from sand-winds of the western desert. During the 1990s, the United State and Britain also used space technology for military purposes in Iraq, e.g. to look for Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.
The collapse of the former regime and the end of the long years of isolation and repression has opened a new window of opportunities. For the first time in their lives, Iraqi citizens can now have a direct access to the Internet, watch foreign satellite television, and enroll in distance learning programmes. Communication with the rest of the world and having direct access to all kinds of information has been playing a significant role in the reconstruction of the new democratic and Federal Iraq. But, it should be emphasized that no one has planned or expected this. In the new Iraq, there are plans to use the latest space technology for development purposes, for instance, to restore natural life to the famous Arab Marsh, to construct new oil pipelines, to build new dams and to safeguard historical sites. It is not exaggeration to say that in the new Iraq, modern space technology is associated with freedom, peace and progress in all of their forms and dimensions.
Dr.
Saad
Bashir
Eksander
Director General
National Library and Archives, Bab Al-Muaddam, Baghdad
Professional Category:
Education
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