The British Mandate that lasted less than 2 decades between Ottoman imperial rule and Iraqi independence? Yeah, it has something to do with Iraq’s existence, but it doesn’t define it, and isn’t the sole explanation for it, especially in its current form. Do you feel at all like you minimize the agency, relevancy, and life experiences of millions of people who lived in or ruled that region over millenia when you focus only on European colonization of a place that has never been an actual colony of a European nation? At least, none of my Iraqi coworkers believe it was, and one just got annoyed at me for even proposing it. But that’s an anecdotal appeal to authority, I suppose, so maybe I should discount their views and knowledge of their own history. Do you answer questions, or only ask them?