ET: The Iranians, as much as the Americans, have, alongside the Iraqis, breathed a sigh of relief, as rendered bereft of international and regional allies and perhaps, most importantly under pressure from Ayatollah Uzma Sistani, Prime Minister Maliki has agreed to step down and has endorsed the nomination of Haider al-Abadi as the new prime minister-designate of Iraq. This is the first step in an arduous journey that Iraqi politicians and people have to undertake to effect the needed reconciliation, heal the wounds caused by sectarian divide and to unitedly contend with the threat that the Islamic State (IS), arrogantly labelled the new caliphate, with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as its head, poses to both Iraq and Syria. All regional countries, particularly Lebanon and Jordan, face the possibility of IS expansion. Saudi Arabia’s concern is reflected in the large dollops of assistance — $3 billion in December and a further $1 billion this month to strengthen capacity of the Lebanese armed forces and by its deployment of extra troops along its borders with Iraq and Syria.
The problems in Iraq are many. Bringing the Sunnis back into the fold and winning back their trust is not going to be easy nor will it be easy to curb Kurdish ambitions for greater autonomy and for recognition of their takeover of Kirkuk. In the past, the Iraqis have shown that international, regional and domestic pressures notwithstanding, even relatively simple power-sharing arrangements consume an inordinate length of time, with much backroom manoeuvring. It would be naive to expect that the Sunnis of Mosul and Fallujah will engage in a second ‘Sunni Awakening’ until these questions have been settled and pledges made that they will be provided financial incentives. Even then, given the bitterness engendered by sectarian strife and the measure of influence that former Baathist leaders have acquired in Sunni majority areas, this awakening will be weaker than the one that with massive American assistance, helped oust the Zarqawi-led al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.
Categories: Anti Islam act by Muslims, Arab World, Asia, Pakistan