Iraq’s government has lost control of vast areas to powerful local factions and the country is on the verge of collapse and fragmentation, a leading British think-tank said on Thursday (source article).
I think this is an interesting article. I do not necessarily agree with the conclusions drawn but the article points out a couple of things that are not being said often enough.
The article says that the Iraqi government is on the verge of collapse. While I believe that to be a true statement I think we need to remember that the Iraqi government is really still in the birthing process. The article points to the Iraqi government’s lack of influence over regions of Iraq as evidence that it is near collapse. However, one might also say that is evidence of a new government slowly gaining control of the territory within its boundaries. It is a question of perspective and spin. What happens next depends on many factors not the least of which is how much international support the new government gets.
The article also calls attention to the fact that Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have vested interest in the internal conflicts in Iraq. Failure to ensure the establishment of a sound and secure government in Iraq is likely to lead to greater unrest beyond the borders of Iraq.
Aloha
[posted with ecto]