[zonbron]

Verdeel en heers zal niet lukken in Irak



Press TV - Turkey, Qatar sectarian plots will fail in Iraq
14 december 2013 - Are the same forces that promote a sectarian conflict in Syria trying to do the same in Iraq?

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, the enemies of Iraq have taken advantage of the complexities of the Iraqi society - made up by different political, ethnic and religious components - in order to fuel sectarian conflicts. They are trying to overthrow the current Iraqi government, led by Nouri al-Maliki, by claiming that it is Shiite-dominated or pro-Iranian and spreading sedition between Sunnis and Shiites and Arabs and Kurds.

Iraqi analysts think that some foreign parties are plotting to topple the Maliki government in order to expel Shiite parties from power or at least weaken their influence. They also consider that Iraq would be the following country in the list if Bashar al-Assad´s government were toppled by armed groups in Syria. Extremist groups would then feel emboldened by a hard line sectarian government in Damascus and the result would be a wider sectarian conflict in the region.

One of the enemies of the Iraqi government is al-Qaeda in Iraq, responsible for a wave of sectarian terrorist attacks that continue up to today. Last year, al-Qaeda began to expand its operations in Iraq and, as a result, hundreds of people were killed, especially during Shiite religious celebrations.

Despite the high number of victims, the Iraqi authorities have dismissed al-Qaeda´s operations as “insignificant”. “The war on terror is over,” said Maliki, adding that “what remains is only a bunch of cells backed by foreign countries.” The Iraqi Parliament has also passed a tough anti-terrorism law, which has contributed to reduce the number of attacks.


Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
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