Iraq’s Sectarian Violence

Some have speculated that after Saddam was disposed, that Iraq should’ve been divided into three nations. Because sectarian identity is so strong in the region, a Sunni, Shia and Kurdish division of Iraq seemed to be the prudent thing to do in their minds. With most of the violence in Iraq centered between Sunni’s and Shia’s, there has been suggestions that the Iraq War has degraded to a civil war. Bush’s detractors are quick to point out this is just the latest evidence that attempts to establish a democracy in the Middle East was a fool’s errand and the war had nothing to do with terrorism.

The past week has been especially bloody as the death toll reached 250. All of them Shia. Some of these attacks have targeted the Shia while worshiping in their Mosques. Why is this? The head of al-Qaeda in Iraq is a Sunni. The derision between these groups is long lived and anything to disrupt the Coalition effort by the hated West is just icing on the cake. We shouldn’t be surprised to find out that Saddam is also a Sunni, but it’s important to note that al-Qaeda’s interest has more to do with establishing chaos in a divide and conquer strategy than sectarian interests. A free and open society is hostile to al-Qaeda’s interests of establishing an aggressive Taliban-like Iraq. So, in effect, Bush’s Iraq War has posed al-Qaeda against Iraqi Shia and Kurds. The later are all too willing to comply, seeking revenge on the Sunni minority that inhabited the Bathist regime

Iran, Syria and few other nations have supplied insurgents to support the Sunni’s either by clandestine government operations or at the behest of Mullahs. These Muhajideen are hoping to put an end to the process of healing that is attempting to take place in a Post-Saddam Iraq. But with the majority of Iraqi’s and the Coalition forces still in tact, elections and government formation has progressed. These forces from outside Iraq don’t care about the Iraqi citizenry, their goal is to remove infidels from region. The brutal Hussein regime would be preferable to any democracy in their eyes. The Shia majority can see through that plan. They have won the elections and will want to hold on to power, even if it means an alignment with the West. Once our troops have pulled out for good, leaving an ally in firm juxtaposition to Sunni Bathist’s, the US can rest assured that the Shia/Kurd majority will be resistant to any return to a Saddam-like government.