The Iraq “Civil War”,
Iraq was home to the world’s first super power so, unlike the unruly culture in Afghanistan, a stable nation can and will exist there. The question is, why all of a sudden did Iraq irrupt into this supposed civil war? There is no simple answer but so far, the U.S. reports I’ve read are so far off base its embarrassing.
Divided Culture
Iraq, as we know it today, was created by western nations with absolutely no knowledge or care of the cultures that they chose to box in on a map and assign it a name. Culturally speaking, Iraq should be two nations: Kurdistan and Iraq. Sectarian violence has plagued the Kurdish people in Iraq since its inception. Also, before Saddam ran most of them off, Iraq claimed one of the largest Jewish populations in the diaspora. Despite the Baath party’s best efforts to create a unified culture through ethnic cleansing and intimidation, Iraq remains a diverse and resourceful nation.
Division breeds conflict and conflict is nothing new to Iraq. One of the reasons that the U.S. knew Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, was because informants and secret intelligence forces reported them. Many people in the U.S. and around the world, now believe President Bush made it up just to go to war. I, the Iraqis, the Kurds and anyone else who has bothered to go against what the U.S. media said and actually look into it, know that WMDs were used by Saddam on the Kurds in an attempt to ethnically cleanse Iraq. The fear and intimidation caused by the Baath party remains in the hearts of the people today, who fear that another repressive government will return.
Sunni vs Shia
Islam has been the dominant religion of the Middle East since the 7th century A.D. when Muhammad united the Arab tribes, promising them power and influence over the aristocracy. He created a religion that spread by force very rapidly but died without leaving a clear plan for succession over his newly conquered empire. Perhaps his 9 year old wife was infertile? In the ensuing grab for power two factions emerged claiming to be the true inheritors of Muhammad’s empire and faith, we call these two factions the Sunni and the Shia. They have been competing for power and influence as “The true faith” ever since.
Shia Ali- Meaning, the Party of Ali was the party that believed that Muhammad’s son-in-law should inherit his empire
Ahl as-sunnah- Meaning, the people of the community believed that Muhammad’s adviser and one of the most successful military commanders (Abu Bakr) should control the empire.
Current Political Setting
Keep in mind that the Democratic Government in Iraq is in its infancy. The Prime Minister has managed to hold onto power for two terms but, now that the United States has abandoned the nation before the government solidified itself… again… (The first time was in the Gulf War) How will the fledgling government solidify such a divided nation? Let’s look at the current political atmosphere:
U.S. power (Economic and Military) has declined sharply in the last 6 years, President Obama has arguably, the weakest foreign policy in U.S. History. This administration repeatedly allows it's interests to be challenged and attacked without repercussions. It has also failed to support her Allies.
Russia is expanding rapidly, (economically and militarily). It has been engaged in active insurgent and outright military actions to conquer territories and resources, virtually unchecked. Russia has secured major trade agreements with China and controls much of the oil that the EU depends on. Russia has connections with and supports hostile nations like: Syria and Iran.
Russia, Iran and Syria have much to gain by securing access to Iraq’s resources.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - the organization leading the attack on Iraq. They are NOT loyal to the nation of Iraq, nor do they want a democratic government. They are a Sunni insurgency. The goal of the ISIL/ISIS, is to install a Sunni government (Caliphate). These are the rebels that Obama wanted to support in Syria.
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki, is the Prime Minister of Iraq. He is a Shia Muslim, has lived in Iran and Syria and fought the Sunni Baath regime for decades alongside other guerrilla/insurgent/terrorist groups. Iran has sent troops into Iraq to help Iraqi forces turn the tide against the Sunni forces.
Conclusion
I believe that Maliki is making his play for power and that given the political climate, he is better off allying himself with Russia and his old friends in Syria and Iran, than with an impotent U.S. The Civil War in Iraq is not, by definition, a Civil War. The Insurgency is primarily a foreign one, likely receiving help from members of our own government. The majority of the Iraqi people are thankful that the U.S. freed them from oppression but the U.S. does not want Iran to gain further power/influence. What we see is not a civil war at all, but an invasion that has little to do with Democracy and everything to do with power/influence.
It is reminiscent of the annexation move we witnessed in the Crimea a few months ago. I believe that Maliki will use this to gain power and ally himself with our enemies. I’m reminded of the “People’s revolution in China”. The U.S. helped China fight a mutual enemy (Japan) but instead of gaining a friend they supplied an insurgency only to gain an enemy. The U.S. had the same problem with Cuba, and since Democrats obviously don’t study history, we will probably watch another Democrat throw another potentially free nation to the wolves….. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the subject.
