So much has been written about the problems in Iraq that one becomes jaundiced when seeing still more articles trying to provide some new insight into the mess. Roger Owen’s analysis does shed some additional insight to a commonly referenced problem of the lack of a unified Iraq government. It is hard to note American and Iraqi deaths still occurring when there is no Iraqi who wants an Iraq to exist! No one wants to be an Iraqi!
While our government wants to lull people into thinking that the surge is a success, the following disturbing points are noted:
1. Our military is weakening the centralized government by “arming and financing the Sunni tribes in Anbar Province as local militias”.
2. “National” leaders in government are under the dominion of the various sect leaders. vincial elections in 2005. Essentially, the Coalition Forces supported the local leaders, e.g.., the Shiite militia in Bosra, in the South, and, clearly, the Kurds in the North. And still more frustrating is the lack of unity even within these sects, e.g., Shiite Militias in Bosra fight each other!
3. Since resources, i.e., utilities, are scattered throughout the region, they become dependent on the local warlords who gain more power by their ability to distribute benefits to “their constituents”.
There is no mechanism to build an allegiance to the central government. All of our efforts to give the political process a chance to become effective are doomed to failure. Having said that, what should we do?
Somehow, we have to give the leadership role to some other government or a group of regional powers. We cannot do it. We have to admit failure and ask others to assume leadership with our support, i.e., we will have to support whatever military needs are required in the name of stewardship for the mess we created. The only way that this can happen is our willingness to admit our errors. Why would other nations want to assume any leadership role unless we share our need for help?
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