BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Dozens of protesters took to the streets in southern Iraq’s Dhi Qar province on Monday, burning tires and blocking major roads to demand the dismissal of the local electricity director as the country’s power grid collapses under the weight of decades of war and a U.S.-controlled financial system that funnels Iraq’s oil wealth in meager installments rather than funding reconstruction.
The protests in Al-Fuhud district reflect a growing fury among Iraqis who endure daily power cuts while their government remains financially beholden to Washington. 
Iraq’s electricity demand exceeds 60,000 megawatts during the brutal summer months, yet the country faces a shortfall of nearly 40,000 megawatts—a deficit that leaves households with only a few hours of state-supplied power each day.
Transmission losses remain as high as 60 percent, a direct consequence of infrastructure destroyed during the 2003 U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation, much of which remains unrepaired despite Iraq sitting on vast oil wealth.
The crisis has exposed the reality of U.S. economic dominance over Iraq, where American control of oil revenue distribution has become a potent political weapon. 
Iraq is barred from using conventional international banking systems, with its oil revenues instead deposited at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and shipped back to Baghdad in physical crates of cash—a humiliating and archaic arrangement that gives Washington total control over the nation’s finances.
Last week, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi returned from Washington with an agreement for the release of another $500 million in Iraqi oil revenues—a pittance delivered in cash crates at America’s discretion. 
The installment-based system ensures Baghdad remains perpetually dependent on U.S. goodwill, unable to access its own wealth for urgent reconstruction needs.
The arrangement mirrors the exploitative practices of colonial powers that controlled the resources of their territories while offering only crumbs in return. 
Iraq, which sits on proven oil reserves of over 145 billion barrels, is effectively reduced to begging for its own money while its cities bake in the summer heat without power.
Harakat al-Nujaba, a prominent Iraqi resistance movement, has issued a stark warning against the “American project” in Iraq—a scheme centered on the theft and plunder of the nation’s resources under the deceptive guise of “investments.”
Sheikh Akram al-Kaabi, the movement’s secretary-general, condemned political narratives that pressure Iraq into compliance with U.S. demands, describing them as submission to the “American axis of evil.” 
He specifically criticized efforts targeting the Popular Mobilization Forces and broader resistance factions, which serve to weaken Iraq’s centers of power while Washington tightens its grip.
“The suggestion that Iraq must appease Washington to ensure the delivery of oil revenues is an astounding absurdity,” al-Kaabi said in a statement. “A sovereign nation should not mortgage its economy and national funds to an arrogant criminal thief.”
The U.S. invasion and occupation left Iraq’s infrastructure in ruins. Hospitals, schools, roads, and the electricity grid were systematically destroyed during the military campaign and the chaotic years that followed. Yet instead of funding reconstruction, American financial control has ensured that Iraq’s own resources are used as leverage.