It shows me how isolated the general Iraqi public is from the real world. The Iraqi government makes a smart move in this. What the common folk don't know won't hurt them.
The government has all the money in the world. Basra, home of the "marsh" Arabs, is their access to the Persian/Arabian Gulf...and the rest of the petroleum-rich area.
The Iraqi people haven't a CLUE as to what the rest of the world sees, hears and knows. It's truly shuttered away in its own world. The Persians can afford to laugh in their bubble...as long as they remain clueless.