(Untitled)

[ralph_the_fat]

I've been meaning to talk about this lately, but excess time has been few and far between. After hearing about this on the news when I came home this afternoon though, I felt compelled to finally give my two cents on the situation:

"Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, declared an ``all-out war'' on Shiites in September 2005, and has

Comments

[ralph_the_fat]

"...although the three eth(n)ic groups have questionable relations with one another, a majority of Iraqi’s indeed see themselves as “Iraqi.”......and I fundamentally disagree with your assertion that Pre-era Iraq, was anywhere near as volatile as it is today."

You are right in stating that Iraqis do shows some signs of nationalism, but to insinuate that being an iraqi is more important to them as it is for them to be a Shiite a Sunni or a Qurd is ludicrous. While it may be true that only a minority of individuals of the different islamic sects want a radical all out war with the other islamic sects, almost all civil wars, revolutions, etc. were started by a radical few who represented the many (The American Revolution...like the 70% of the colonialists that eventually revolted wanted to risk treason....give me a break, The French Revolution, The American Civil War, the list goes on and on with few exceptions (South Africa for one). The fact is, the minority of radicals always drag in people with similar (yet moderate) ideals into conflicts.

First of all, I never made the claim that "Pre-era Iraq, was anywhere near as volatile as it is today." I will say this though, much could be said to the wide spread ease at which individuals can attain the knowledge and the resources required to make bombs (IED is a ridiculous term....for goodness sake, isnt an improvised explosive device the definition of a bomb?) and firearms in general. I think bombs in particular play into a muslim "freedom fighters'" mentality. This is entirely a self proposed theory though I must say.

"What your international relations teacher probably overlooks, is that Iraq seemed tranquil under Saddam, because fear controlled the populace, or state media ignored the plight within the nation."

Im pretty sure my IR teacher has never made the statement that Sadaam Hussein was a good thing for Iraq....I made that conclusion entirely on my own. What needed to be done in Iraq WAS maintain some level of fear. It's the reason why Iraq under Sadaam was moderately stable in respect to the religious tensions that fundamentally exist there. True, the state run media could have opted not to show the "plight within the nation," but for a large portion of Sadaam's "tenure" as president of Iraq, the United States and other countries had many a chance to view the domestic side of Iraq. I think any moderate to large scaled crises would have been observed by outsiders and reported on if they had occured.

"History however, extends far.....development all played a role."

My counter to this is that all of the aforementioned conflicts in Iraqi history originated and involved outsiders trying to impose their will. The basis of my argument. I do not deny that such problems existed in Africa as well, but the key to it all is that they were INTERtribal affairs. When a european power groups a large region together and calls it a country, those former INTERtribal discrepancies become INTRAnational problems. A nation suffering from INTRAnational problems CANNOT create a legitimate government....it's just not possible.The same is true with Iraq, what was intertribal differences and conflicts has now become an intranational affair, and it's dragging the United States into it and unless we do something fast, it'll soon become an international affair to a horrific degree.

"While IED’s and suicide bombers may rattle soldiers, the societal backlash within the Muslim community has been notable..."

Really? The riots following the bombing of the Golden Mosque aren't being carried out by extremists. In my honest opinion, in no more than 2 years we will look back on the 22nd of February and say, "That's when the Iraqi Civil War officially began." This is their Bastille, this is their Fort Sumter, this is their Boston Massacre, and this is their 9-11. It's what finally will push the Iraqis over the edge.