Where do we begin to understand the important issues which face a country torn apart by war; do we start with the women and children who have suffered and died or do our thoughts turn to our own soldiers, those who stand and those who die.
And who do we turn to when we seek an answer to the problems that now affect the country?
And who do we hold responsible for the chaos which now remains where the Hanging Gardens
of Babylon once flourished.
After five years since the invasion of Iraq
by the American led invasion, the violence and division within the country is at its highest since the days before the Prophet Mohammad.
Here, in this man made environment, Iraq
contains the largest displacement of a human population in the world, creating a humanitarian crisis of immense proportion. Probably the most vulnerable are the 2.7 million internally displaced people who have deserted their homes for safer locations within the country. These people live, mostly without employment, in squalid conditions and with very little food. Here in this existence they live lacking the basic amenities, such as running fresh water or electricity.
But who's responsibility is it; we could maintain the stance that the responsibility rests with the Government of Iraq, and it is they who must devise and implement a plan which will address the humanitarian needs of the displaced and other vulnerable people of Iraqi, and that the United States should merely provide the technical expertise required for them to do this.
It's true that the Iraq Government has access to countless billions of dollars, but they do not have the capacity or political expertise to use these resources for humanitarian needs. Because of this failure the local Militia are providing the social services for their own neighbourhoods; in this way it is they who come to control the towns and cities. When these Shiite and Sunni militias provide the delivery of food, oil, electricity and money, they sponsor the common people of Iraq
to join their group.
Yet this is by no means an end to the suffering numbers of its people, there are those, estimated by Refugee's International, a further 1.5 million of them who live in the neighbouring countries of Syria
and Jordan to name two, who exist in very similar conditions.
And when these people return to their homeland they usually find that the homes that they had have been occupied by others or simply destroyed. Because of the collapse of the social services and failure by their government even the ethnic groups themselves have changed and so there is nowhere for them to go. The upsurge in sectarian violence from 2006 has created its own problems, and more Iraqis are fleeing their homes to safer areas of Iraq
or to neighbouring countries.
Although many organisations, such as Refugees International, and many world governments hope that Iraqis will be able to return to their homes in the future, the necessary conditions for them to return in safety and dignity do not exist. People are not being encouraged to return until the violence subsides and they can receive adequate assistance and protection.
The president of Refugees International, Ken Bacon, said; "we have to focus on ways to accommodate them in the countries nearby such as Egypt,
Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon," "otherwise they will be rejected, and there will be no safety valve whatsoever." He also called for the Bush administration to double its contribution to the UNHCR budget for Iraqi displacement.
But the most practical ways of alleviating the crisis in Iraq
is to step up aid for the refugees, to provide the necessary political incentive for the Iraqi government, and to encourage a more forceful governmental administration.
The US, the government of Iraq and the international community must understand the significance of addressing the consequences affecting the humanitarian needs of Iraqis.' And although the United Nations and other governments have dramatically increased their response to the needs of Iraqi refugees, these concerns must be expanded as refugees become increasingly vulnerable.
The United States
and Great Britain, as the principal authors of the current war, should shoulder responsibility for the war's refugees, a responsibility they have so far evaded. But the truth known these nations have not been able to solve the present problem because they do not know how to resolve it.
So in that instance where does the blame lie?
Does it remain in the lap of our governments, who openly state that they do not know what to do?
Does in lie with the government of Iraq
who have openly stated that they do not know how to handle it?
Or does the blame lie with us?
After all, we constantly bicker and complain about the happenings in Iraq.
Professing to know the answers.
Claiming to hold the resolution to all of Iraq's problems.
Yes, it is down to us, for the simple reason that no one else knows the answer.
But what say do we have in the control of a foreign country?
Our governments control the political and international scenery which dictates world affairs, and it is they who administer us, for us.
Yet, are we the sheep that they lead or are we those who determine who the shepherd will be and where he will lead us?
Governments seem to forget that they were elected, and they administer, not entirely for the people, more so for political prestige and international standing. What they need to understand, and what we must acknowledge, is that the government, any government, all governments, are elected by the people for the people.
In that understanding the crisis in Iraq
is our responsibility; we determine the shepherd. If we want the peace, the tranquillity and the order to return to Iraq
then we must insist that more is done to achieve it, because we are the people, for the people; whoever they are.