The never-ending mess of Iraq
April 10th, 2008 by Torstein Schiøtz Worren
We are told that “The Surge” in Iraq has been a success as the increase in US troops, in addition to local agreements with wardlords, strongmen, sheikhs and mullahs, has brought the violence in Iraq down considerably. In reality, Iraq has become completely dysfunctional and decentralised and the central government has virtually no control on the ground. The country has become a patchwork of ethnic enclaves protected by walls and private armies.
As the following article in Rolling Stone explains, this solution will only exacerbate the ethnic and religious divisions and conflicts that it was supposed to solve.
Excerpt:
Now, in the midst of the surge, the Bush administration has done an about-face. Having lost the civil war, many Sunnis were suddenly desperate to switch sides — and Gen. David Petraeus was eager to oblige. The U.S. has not only added 30,000 more troops in Iraq — it has essentially bribed the opposition, arming the very Sunni militants who only months ago were waging deadly assaults on American forces. To engineer a fragile peace, the U.S. military has created and backed dozens of new Sunni militias, which now operate beyond the control of Iraq’s central government. The Americans call the units by a variety of euphemisms: Iraqi Security Volunteers (ISVs), neighborhood watch groups, Concerned Local Citizens, Critical Infrastructure Security. The militias prefer a simpler and more dramatic name: They call themselves Sahwa, or “the Awakening.” [Read the whole article]
Angry Anarchist wrote on 04/26/08 at 2:06 :
Hello! Thanks for your comment on my website. I didn’t know I had so many dedicated readers. I’m currently busy finishing up a Master’s thesis, which I expect I’ll be done with in June, so I’m thinking of re-launching my blog around June-July. If all goes according to plan I will be hosting it on a personal website which will have a lot more entertaining political and non-political stuff than just the blog.
Will keep you updated.