Can Iraq overcome feuding between sects to create a united country?

No

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by Gregory Hietala

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Iraq will never have the ability to overcome its violent state and become a unified country. Although the United States will continue to attempt to form a permanent government, it simply cannot be done due to the current state of Iraq. The country was never actually a unified country unless it had some form of authoritarian rule. There are three main reasons that will ultimately prevent Iraq from unifying. There are too many religious differences, deepened hatreds, and a corrupt form of government.

First of all, within Iraq there are three different prevailing forms of religion, and although they are all forms of Islam, there is still a lot of infighting. The Kurds control most of the northern region of Iraq and have gone mainly uncontested, at least until Turkey started attacking them. Also to the south, the Shiites and the Suunis have been fighting over key cities in what has become the "Iraqi Triangle of Death". These key cities, which include Baghdad, Falluja, and Iskandariya, have been the epicenter of American and Iraqi casualties. Even with increased security from both American and Iraqi forces, terrorists still manage to create chaos in an isolated manner. Even though this is not the full chaotic goal of the terrorists, it still has a strong influence on the public of Iraq, and shows them that this war may in fact be a war of attrition. Nonetheless, these clashes of religion have created political gaps in between each religion, and now all the religions are looking for ways to attack each other. The Christen Science Monitor of November 28th, 2006, reports a fear of Sectarian Civil War, if current violence escalates. If anymore evidence is truly necessary, then it is important to look towards the religious militias that have now come into conflict with the American and Iraqi forces. Al'Sadr's Militia has recently engaged the Iraqi military forces in a fierce battle for Basra. Even though the Iraqi forces eventually defeated Al'Sadr, this is only one example of many. In the long run, Iraq cannot be unified if these religious conflicts continue, since they only deepen differences between large groups in Iraq.
In addition to my previous point, Iraq will not unify because of deepened hatreds between the many different groups of Iraq. The fighting that has ensued after the American invasion, has driven deep hatreds and conflicts between militias, and even religions. Since Saddam has favored the Shiites in Iraq for his entire period of power, many Suunis had become enraged. Once the threat of genocide from Saddam was removed, many insurgents quickly sparked a conflict between the two sides. Such conflicts lead to much more dangerous and more volatile attacks against the public, because the insurgents stopped focusing on Americans, and started to create massive collateral damage against religious groups. The TIME Magazine of February 2008 reports a mainstream hatred between both religions. Usually, such hatred is only demonstrated through insurgency groups, however, a mainstream hatred spells disaster for stability in Iraq. If the two largest religious communities in Iraq, engage each other, we will be looking straight down the throat of a monstrous civil war. Additionally, such a large scale civil war would prompt Middle Eastern neighbors to join so they can protect their religion. For instance, Iran would likely move in to protect the Shiites, since Iran is a majority Shiite state, and Saudi Arabia will move in to protect the Suunis, since Saudi Arabia is a Suuni state. From there, Middle Eastern stability will be compromised and conflicts will only escalate. Clearly, deepened hatreds are going to prevent Iraqi stability.
Finally, a corrupted governmental structure repels lasting stability and democracy in the Middle East. When the Americans first introduced democracy in Iraq, few people truly understood its values. Now when we look at the state of the democracy today, we can see its bad values influencing the people of Iraq. Billions of dollars have gone "missing" in the hands of the Iraqi government and so have large stockpiles of weapons. CNN of October 25, 2004, reports an entire 380 tons of explosives are missing, 380 tons of explosives that were supposed to be under protection by coalition forces. Also according to CNN of January 31, 2005, $9 billion dollars have been lost in the governments hands. 380 tons of explosives and $9 billion dollars do not get up and walk away, and these components would make a strong and lasting insurgent army. Not only that, but the people of Iraq are seeing the bad values of democracy, and many do not approve of such actions. I am sure there is a lot of lost confidence in the Iraqi government as well as a general disapproval of the government because of such corruption. The people of Iraq are clearly against what the U.S. has hoped for, and this will surely bring a new onslaught of violence, when given the chance.
In conclusion, we can see that the unification of Iraq, will simply never happen. The sectarian violence has truly placed a large political gap in the way of unification, and there is nothing the U.S. or Iraqi government can do. The only solution to the problem that is Iraq, is a public unification against violence. However, religious conflicts, deepened hatreds and a faltering government, hinder progress towards such a goal, and may ultimately undermine it. It is for these reasons, that we can all clearly see more violence in Iraq, rather then peace.

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