[lit-ideas] Re: Diversity Questions
- From: Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 07 Aug 2005 15:15:38 -0400
Here's something from a site that headlines itself:
Memo From Mesopotamia, By Allan Wall
Iraq Proves Diversity Not Strength But Weakness. So Why Import It?
[http://www.vdare.com/awall/050505_memo.htm]
_____
Can the new, post-Saddam Iraq maintain a successful political
system and remain united? It’s a real challenge.
Modern Iraq is an artificially constructed state, carved out of the
Ottoman Empire in the 20th century. It has Sunni Arabs, Shiite Arabs
and Kurds. And that's only the three major groups—smaller ones
include the Turkmen and ChaldoAssyrians.
Not only that, but at least 75% of the population identifies itself
with one of about 150 tribes.
The possibilities facing U.S. troops can be confusing and dangerous.
That man with a weapon—is he an insurgent, or just an Iraqi
tribesman settling a tribal score?
The Sunni-Shiite rivalry goes back to the succession struggles of
the early years of Islam. Since Ottoman times, the more urbanized
and prosperous Sunni Arabs dominated the more rural Shiites. Sunni
dominance was a major foundation of Saddam's authority.
The removal of Saddam Hussein did not eliminate the Shia-Sunni
rivalry, as the U.S. Army has discovered. In October of 2004 at a
U.S. detention camp at Camp Bucca, Sunni and Shiite prisoners fought
each other over how to observe Ramadan. The two groups had to be
separated.
And Iraq doesn't exist in a vacuum. Its neighbors have their own
preferences about the country's future. Turkey looks askance at any
form of Kurdish autonomy, even in Iraq, because of the influence it
could have on Turkey's own Kurds. Shiite Iran seeks more influence
among Iraq's Shiite majority. Ironically, the class of Sunni
insurgents classified as "Former Regime Elements" also oppose
Iranian influence in the new Iraq and have warned the U.S. about it.
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