Why the Rise in Violence In Iraq Is So Awesome

When i heard about the resurgence of violence in Iraq i was wondering what had gone wrong, then i heard it was the Shiite militia, and i was just so glad it is finally happening. Many may see it as a negative sign, but i see it as something that should have happened a long time ago. Thank goodness it's finally going down.

Iraq is a country that used to be under the rule of a tyrant. Saddam made Iraqis believe that the Sunni minority, of which he was a member, was not as small a group as it really was. They had this impression that no matter how many Shiites were in the country the Sunni's were never less than 40% of the population.

Of course, it was a myth, but it gave Saddam the opportunity to terrorize the vast majority without fearing an uprising. It made people of both races hate each other and gave the loyalty of a whole race to Saddam. When the first elections were held, it put a Shiite (majority) in government as the prime minister, and that happened largely with the help of Moqtadar Al-Sadr, also a Shiite. The problem is Moqtadar is an anti-American Pro-Iran demagogue with a vast number of loyal followers.

Among this followers he has been able to build an army which was good at the time it was needed. A time when Al-Qaeda was appealing to the ego Sunni's who had always enjoyed power. It helped, not only protect Shiites, but also carry out revenge, and sometimes even gratuitous attacks against the Sunni.

The Iraqi government had been requesting that the Sadr's Medhi army control be turned over to it, but Sadr refused. Instead when the U.S brought in ten's of thousands of troops during the surge, he his army to observe a temporary cease fire and then went into hiding. When the U.S described it as a welcome improvement i was skeptical, i believe the U.S should has found him and arrested him. This will cause a massive showdown but at the time of the troop surge, we had enough men on the ground for such a clash.

Now, that the U.S has all but destroyed Al-Qaeda in Iraq and gained the trust of the Sunni's, Sadr was beginning to lose control of his army. They were committing radom acts of violence especially in the oil rich city of Basra. The U.S tried to down play it by saying it was just some "rogue elements" of the army and tried to take them out without involving the whole army.

The latest chapter in this sad story is that the Iraqi Shiite government gave the gunmen 72 hours to lay down their weapons while sending in Iraqi troops to flush them out. American soldiers were only involved in minor operations and air strikes. The fight has now grown so much bigger than the Iraq government expected it to be that British troops were called in today to help.

All people see is violence, but lets leave the body count alone for a moment and review the facts:

(1) The greatest thing about this is that it is, in my opinion, the final major battle in Iraq: Al-Qaeda has been defeated, and the Medhi army would have to confront American, British and Iraqi forces.

(2) The Shiite government is now facing the Shiite militia: This gives the Sunni's a lot of trust in their government. Instead of the tribal politics that used to take place in Iraq, there is a sense that he is the Prime minister of Iraq, not of Shia Iraq.

(3). When this is over we would not have a force of such complexity in Iraq: It was amusing to me that we would even welcome the cease fire in the first place because we have directly legitimized the Medhi by doing that. But those that did knew more than i did and there was really nothing i could do about it. When the army is gone, i hope we don't make the mistake of not arresting this crook that thinks he can leave above the law.

(4). It would send a strong message to all to-be demagogues that their will be consequences if they mis-behave: The message would be as simple as that; if the government can take on those that helped it get elected, then they'll come for you.

(5). It removes the impression that the Prime minister Al- Malaki is weak: He's condemnation of the U,S during our former attacks against the Medhi and unwillingness to condemn them in the past has made him look very weak. Even the U.S congress has called him that.

I'm glad this is finally going down and i hope by the time this is over this pro-Iranian crook would have been arrested and put behind bars. This would give Iran, one of his major supporters and funders, i believe, a lot lessinfluence in the Iraq government.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

 •    •    •    •    •    •    •