Those hoping that the ‘surge’ in Iraq has brought anything resembling long-lasting stability are likely to be disappointed, according to one of Iraq’s most prolific columnists, Fateh Abdulsalam.
Writing for Iraq’s Azzaman newspaper, Abdulsalam suggests that the government’s four-year policy of coddling and cooperating with militias and ‘falling into the orbit of foreign powers’ has resulted in a nation as ungovernable as it is insecure.
“There is a clear and resurgent determination to carry out attacks within Baghdad and some of the provinces. These attacks serve to re-ignite the conflict between religious communities that had only recently settled down. This is the reality created by ‘politicians’ and ‘parties’ that took four years to wake-up to the fact that this method of seed-planting doesn’t germinate very well politically.”
He then questions the wisdom of the joint U.S.-Iraqi nationwide security crackdown:
“What’s the point of operations with fancy names if the chaos roars back as soon as police and military forces are withdrawn? … If government leaders and their counterparts across the table in Parliament are caught up in the orbit of other countries [Iran]; and if their proposals fail serve the nation during its current trials; all steps taken to put Iraq on a safe and secure path will fail to take hold. The impact of such steps won’t survive even an hour after they’re completed.
By Fateh Abdulsalam
Translated By Jenny Oliver
June 19, 2008
Iraq – Azzaman – Original Article (Arabic)
The U.S. Army has said that a “Special Group” connected to a surprising name was responsible for the recent car bombing in the Al Hurriyah district of Baghdad [“Special Group” is the U.S. military’s term for fighters attached to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia – although they could be dissidents ]. On a day that U.S. troops thought they’d be enjoying the fruits of their successful security crackdown on militias and gangs in the capital, the attack resulted in the deaths of 63 Iraqis . But regardless of whose name is linked to these “Special Groups,” and whatever links Iran has to the bombing attack, there is a clear and resurgent determination to carry out attacks within Baghdad and some of the provinces. These attacks serve to re-ignite the conflict between religious communities that had only recently settled down. This is the reality created by “politicians” and “parties” that took four years to “wake-up” to the fact that this method of seed-planting doesn’t germinate very well politically, an example being how certain politicians have justified the existence of militias by citing the need to counter al-Qaeda. The identity of one such politician, who is the key sponsor of two of these militias, is no longer a secret to anyone [Muqtada al-Sadr].
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated Iraqi press coverage of the war in Iraq.
