There’s simply no getting around it. Violence resulting from sectarian tensions and the presence of Mujahideen, which didn’t exist within the country prior to the occupation, is something that is going to plague Iraq for some time to come. The second that the country was occupied that reality became inevitable.
With US forces pulling back to various locations outside of Iraqi cities under the conditions of the Status Of Forces Agreement, violence has increased throughout the country. Unfortunately, such bloodshed cannot be used to justify the continued presence of occupational forces, for it has been the occupation of Iraq that has led to not only the rise of sectarian divisions, but also turned the country into one of the foremost destinations for foreign fighters that have little to no regard for what is in the best interests of the Iraqi people.
Sectarian divisions will, without question, play a significant role in the post occupational environment. As an example, Kurdistan’s parliament is moving forward with plans to hold a regional referendum regarding the implementation of a new constitution different than that of Iraq’s central government. The key factor, of course, is the acquisition of those territories within the region in which oil and natural gas are prevalent, a move that is being challenged by both the central government and various ethnic groups. The issue was supposed to be mediated by the UN and US, but the Kurdish parliament has pushed ahead with its plans despite negotiations.
No matter what happens in Iraq following the withdrawal of occupational forces – and make no mistake, withdrawal is inevitable – the people of Iraq will be faced with dealing with the fallout of the fracturing of their nation, the divisions that have been exploited within it, and, sadly, a significant amount of violence because of it. But as I’ve already stated, all of those things became an inevitability in 2003.
