9 ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF STATE-CONTROLLED WEAPONS – EXPERT AL-HASHEMI

9 ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF STATE-CONTROLLED WEAPONS – EXPERT AL-HASHEMI (AND THESE BENEFITS CAN INCREASE)

“From a crisis economy to a planning economy”

Economic expert Ziad Al-Hashemi said that the Iraqi state will achieve significant economic gains by getting rid of loose weapons, explaining that this step will raise Iraq’s status and place it among countries with true sovereignty. He added that countries will give greater value to the Iraqi government after it gets rid of loose weapons and will deal with it with greater confidence.

 Iraq will have a pivotal role through which it can enter into strategic alliances and new economic partnerships. Al-Hashemi also stressed that the Iraqi economy will transform from a crisis economy to a planned economy through comprehensive development plans, and he listed 9 benefits, saying that they are subject to increase according to developments.

Al-Hashemi’s Facebook post:

• Restoring Iraqi sovereignty by eliminating loose weapons will yield significant economic gains, freeing Iraq from the grip of uncontrolled arms dealers and elevating its standing among truly sovereign nations. One nation, one people, one army—this is the motto and objective that stable states strive for, uphold, and maintain. It is a fundamental condition that grants these nations the immunity and opportunity to strengthen their stability, sovereignty, and political, economic, and security standing.

• Countries will give greater value to the Iraqi government after it gets rid of loose weapons, and will deal with it with greater confidence. Iraq will have a greater pivotal role through which it can enter into strategic alliances and new economic partnerships, which were not possible to achieve with weapons in the hands of non-governmental groups!

• An Iraq without loose armed groups will transform the Iraqi economy from a crisis economy to a planned economy, as Iraq will be able to develop and implement comprehensive development plans away from the control and influence of those groups.  This is a strategic goal that previous governments failed to achieve, one of the most important reasons being the presence of weapons outside the control of the state!

• Eliminating loose weapons outside the official armed forces will greatly reduce the costs of risks surrounding the Iraqi economy and will enhance the possibility of capital and investments entering Iraq.

• The private sector will find ample space and a promising market for work, expansion and production, and new projects and innovative ideas will enter that will enhance the emerging business sector and the services sector, which the Iraqi economy desperately needs.

• Furthermore, the government’s monopoly on weapons will strongly contribute to weakening corruption, which has been reinforced and spread by loose weapons throughout the past decades and up to the present day through the imposition of levies, commissions and sharing of contracts!

• Enforcing the law with only one weapon in the hands of the government will contribute to achieving civil peace and social justice, end the militarization of society, and open the door to ambition for new generations and the development of their skills to keep pace with developments in the labor market!

• Strategic projects such as the development road can see the light after getting rid of loose weapons, and this will contribute to attracting global industries and supply chains to benefit from this project and establish their projects and centers inside Iraq.

• With the elimination of the loose weapons of the groups and their economic offices, the phenomenon of dollar smuggling, money laundering, and support for sanctioned entities and countries will end, and the Central Bank of Iraq and the government will be able to restrict and reduce these operations to the lowest level, thus preserving national wealth from being lost.

• Oil and commercial smuggling operations and the exploitation of border crossings will decrease to the lowest level after getting rid of loose weapons, and trade will turn into a stable normal situation, which will allow it to be strengthened and the returns achieved for the government to be improved.

These are some of the gains, and there are certainly other gains that we did not have the space to mention, but in any case, Iraq will not see a glimmer of hope or a light without the presence of one official weapon, as the economy does not grow with the presence of loose guns, but rather it deteriorates silently!

When that is achieved, and the economy and Iraq are freed from the grip of loose weapons, then we can say that Iraq has truly begun to stand on its own two feet and walk on the right path, after many years of paralysis and ailments!

Therefore, any incoming prime minister must realize that the success of his government depends on getting rid of loose armed groups and not allowing them to roam with their weapons around his government ministries, as this is a recipe for the failure of his government and a grave danger to the future of Iraq and the fate of its people!