Iraqi columnist argues powerful states exploit weaker nations rather than help them

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi writer Sadiq al-Samarrai has argued in a column that no major power has ever worked to solve the problems of weaker countries, instead treating those difficulties as opportunities to extract resources and advance their own interests. He wrote that states historically have not protected one another but have waited for chances to exploit each other, and that the colonial mindset continues today in new forms. Al-Samarrai maintained that the foundation of relations between states is interest alone, with morality or other values playing no role. He compared weak countries to a cake being eaten at the table of the powerful, saying Arab states have at times moved together against another Arab country to pave the way for its destruction and that those who refuse to comply with the order imposed by outside powers pay a heavy price. He concluded that the current international system still rewards domination and punishes resistance, framing the imbalance between strong and weak states as a recurring pattern rather than a recent development. The piece ended with a poetic reflection on the enduring nature of power politics.