Many of the problems that the Iraqis have had for quite a lot of years are caused by the differing factions of Islam that inhabit the country. The Sunni and Shiite factions of Islam are often at odds about just about whatever happens in that country and things are not likely to change at anytime in the future. There is nothing that we can do about it because their differences and way of doing business is deeply ingrained.
They have a sort of cast system where these two factions do not interact at all. There has been violence between them on many occasions and it is always a threat to break out at any time.
We can ascertain according to stories coming out of Iraq that Iraqi moslims are segregating themselves along sectarian lines, prompted by a political crisis pulling at the explosive Sunni-Shiite divide.
Baghdad and the rest of Iraq are already highly segregated places. Running from bombs, death squads and their own neighbors at the height of violence in 2006 and 2007, Sunnis and Shiites fled neighborhoods that were once mixed.
That violence and the resulting migrations slowed in 2008, but tensions are again swirling as a power struggle worsens between Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Sunni politicians who have been largely sidelined since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. And many fear increased violence could result.
The Iraqi government does not need this type of attitude among its people, especially at this particular time. They are a young government which has many tough obstacles ahead of them. These obstacles cant be overcome if the Iraqis cant band together. The situation as it is now in Iraq is that these two factions are vying for actual control of the country. Whichever side is able to gain control will look out for its own interests to the detriment of the other.
Iraq's worst political crisis in years blew up just as the last American troops were rolling across the border into Kuwait on Dec. 18. Al-Maliki's government issued an arrest warrant for the country's highest-ranking Sunni politician, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, on charges he ran a hit squad that assassinated government officials five years ago. This type of activity severely undermines the governments credibility and its ability to fulfill its mission because negative actions directed inward serve only to destroy its foundation.
But with a crisis in Syria and tightening visa requirements for Iraqis in Syria and Jordan, Sunnis now seem to be relocating around Iraq. Some, like al-Azami, are moving from Shiite to Sunni neighborhoods, others are going from Baghdad to Sunni-dominated cities such as Fallujah or Mosul or the relatively safer Kurdish region. This means Iraq's sectarian map will have even more sharply drawn boundary lines.
One of the biggest problems that the US encountered when attempting to prop the new Iraqi government up was sectarian differences which were so sharp that they made it almost impossible to make progress. If the new Iraqi government is to survive they must find a way around this roadblock. Military Ring Express
They have a sort of cast system where these two factions do not interact at all. There has been violence between them on many occasions and it is always a threat to break out at any time.
We can ascertain according to stories coming out of Iraq that Iraqi moslims are segregating themselves along sectarian lines, prompted by a political crisis pulling at the explosive Sunni-Shiite divide.
Baghdad and the rest of Iraq are already highly segregated places. Running from bombs, death squads and their own neighbors at the height of violence in 2006 and 2007, Sunnis and Shiites fled neighborhoods that were once mixed.
That violence and the resulting migrations slowed in 2008, but tensions are again swirling as a power struggle worsens between Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Sunni politicians who have been largely sidelined since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. And many fear increased violence could result.
The Iraqi government does not need this type of attitude among its people, especially at this particular time. They are a young government which has many tough obstacles ahead of them. These obstacles cant be overcome if the Iraqis cant band together. The situation as it is now in Iraq is that these two factions are vying for actual control of the country. Whichever side is able to gain control will look out for its own interests to the detriment of the other.
Iraq's worst political crisis in years blew up just as the last American troops were rolling across the border into Kuwait on Dec. 18. Al-Maliki's government issued an arrest warrant for the country's highest-ranking Sunni politician, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, on charges he ran a hit squad that assassinated government officials five years ago. This type of activity severely undermines the governments credibility and its ability to fulfill its mission because negative actions directed inward serve only to destroy its foundation.
But with a crisis in Syria and tightening visa requirements for Iraqis in Syria and Jordan, Sunnis now seem to be relocating around Iraq. Some, like al-Azami, are moving from Shiite to Sunni neighborhoods, others are going from Baghdad to Sunni-dominated cities such as Fallujah or Mosul or the relatively safer Kurdish region. This means Iraq's sectarian map will have even more sharply drawn boundary lines.
One of the biggest problems that the US encountered when attempting to prop the new Iraqi government up was sectarian differences which were so sharp that they made it almost impossible to make progress. If the new Iraqi government is to survive they must find a way around this roadblock. Military Ring Express