ANATOMY OF A CIVIL WAR
Civil wars are notoriously difficult to mediate without taking one side, and it doesn't help that in Iraq, battling Shi'ites and Sunnis seem to agree on only one thing: that the U.S. is ultimately to blame for the mess.
--TIME Magazine article, "An Eye for an Eye," March 6, 2006
"A civil war is a violent conflict within a country fought between organized groups seeking to compel major change in government policies or to take control of the center or a region…By any reasonable definition, there has been a civil war in progress in Iraq at least since the Coalition Provisional Authority formally handed over authority to the Iraqis in 2004."
--James Fearon, Professor of Political Science, Stanford University
*Note to the reader:
Since the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, Iraq and the resulting bloodshed and violence, there has been much talk about whether the situation in Iraq will descend into civil war and what impact this development is likely to have on our troops. Following is an in-depth and up-to-date study of the current situation. In this blog, "Anatomy of a Civil War," I'm going to explain how things got to this point, what fuels the violence, why the U.S. troops are caught in the middle and how they feel about it, and what measures the shaky, vulnerable new Iraqi government is taking in an attempt to regain control of the chaos, while the U.S. tries to exert rapidly-diminishing influence. Whenever possible, I will source key information and quotes. Due to its complexity, I'm going to divide the subject into several "Parts," so you can read one or all of them as time permits.
Scroll down for each successive part:
"The Security Situation"
"Sects & Violence: Death Squads and the Militias"
"The Iraqi 9-11"
"Firebrands & Hotheads:Younger Clerics"
"Iraq on Fire"
"The Soldiers Speak" and
"Staring Into the Abyss."
--TIME Magazine article, "An Eye for an Eye," March 6, 2006
"A civil war is a violent conflict within a country fought between organized groups seeking to compel major change in government policies or to take control of the center or a region…By any reasonable definition, there has been a civil war in progress in Iraq at least since the Coalition Provisional Authority formally handed over authority to the Iraqis in 2004."
--James Fearon, Professor of Political Science, Stanford University
*Note to the reader:
Since the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, Iraq and the resulting bloodshed and violence, there has been much talk about whether the situation in Iraq will descend into civil war and what impact this development is likely to have on our troops. Following is an in-depth and up-to-date study of the current situation. In this blog, "Anatomy of a Civil War," I'm going to explain how things got to this point, what fuels the violence, why the U.S. troops are caught in the middle and how they feel about it, and what measures the shaky, vulnerable new Iraqi government is taking in an attempt to regain control of the chaos, while the U.S. tries to exert rapidly-diminishing influence. Whenever possible, I will source key information and quotes. Due to its complexity, I'm going to divide the subject into several "Parts," so you can read one or all of them as time permits.
Scroll down for each successive part:
"The Security Situation"
"Sects & Violence: Death Squads and the Militias"
"The Iraqi 9-11"
"Firebrands & Hotheads:Younger Clerics"
"Iraq on Fire"
"The Soldiers Speak" and
"Staring Into the Abyss."
posted by Deanie Mills at 9:22 PM
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