Rulers like Bashar Assad and Nuri Al-Maliki can do anything to stay in power. Such despots don’t even care about the welfare of its people and the country they rule. Assad’s efforts to cling to power have turned Syria into ruins. What is left in Syria to be ruled? Nothing. The hunger for power is undoubtedly never satiated. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki is treading the same path. A brutal radical organization is making gains on the ground and Al-Maliki is doing nothing. Everybody knows that Al-Maliki’s divisive policies have helped the self-ascribed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) make huge gains with the help of Sunni tribesmen and former Baathist troops. Were it not for Al-Maliki’s sectarian agenda, the Sunnis would have never supported the ISIL. It was due to their marginalization that things have come to such a pass. If we compare Iraq of today and the Iraq of yesteryears, particularly post US invasion, the situation was very different. There was communal harmony in Iraq. This does not mean that it was due to Saddam Hussein. That was the culture of Iraq. However, US invasion and subsequent policies of Al-Maliki have driven a wedge between the various communities living in Iraq. The country is on the verge of disintegration. Iraqis should shun their petty differences and join hands against the radicals. Even Sunnis who supported the ISIL in Al-Anbar and other areas know very well that these radicals can never be trusted. Sooner or later the ISIL will turn the direction of its guns to the local population to forcefully impose its skewed interpretation of Islam on others. This will lead to confrontation and further chaos in Iraq.
It is, however, heartening to note that many leading Shiite and Sunni figures are calling for unity. The international community should move swiftly to pressure Al-Maliki. —
Lala, Jeddah
Crisis in Iraq
