BOILING IRAQI CAULDRON

Under the stewardship of its military dictator, Saddam Hussain, Iraq was united and making allround progress. She could boast of a strong fighting force. But its bad days came when in early 1990s, it waged an unprovoked war on Iran. Shocked by this sudden aggression, Iran, a stronger country withstood the onslaught and ultimately Saddam was compelled to retrace his steps. On the heels of this misadventure, he attacked Kuwait on concocted issues. The USA intervened and once again Iraq had to lick the dust. Saddam was later captured and eliminated. The new govt tried to restore peace with the American assistance. However, the Arab watchers knew it well that the anti-American Sunni Jehadis would not allow the new regime to sit at rest. As a matter of fact, behind the recent upsurge in insurgency there, the guiding factors have been not any ideology but sectoral Islamic reasons. In Iraq, there are three major religious groups - majority Sunni, minority Shia and pro- Turkish Kurds. Saddam was a Sunni leader who kept the Shias suppressed. When Americans intervened to punish Saddam, the Shiites extended them their support. This was not liked by the rabid sunnis represented by the Al Qaeda, Taliban and other such divisive outfits. Since they were incapable of directly challenging a superpower, they waited for the US withdrawal to teach a bitter lesson to the Shiites. This situation is available to them now. But the issue has taken an international colour. Iran is supporting the local Shiites and has declared Jehad on the Sunnis. Though the Americans do not enjoy a cordial relationship with Iran, but internally, they are inclined towards the Iraqi Shia sect. On the other hand, the Saudi Arab is sympathetic to the Sunnis and has been financing their anti-Shia activities. For last one year, there have been repeated attacks on the Shia pilgrimages and their Friday rituals were mercilessly attacked killing hundreds of the faithful. They have captured some important towns in Nineveh province,Trkit, Mosul etc. The govt forces have launched punitive measures and some towns have been recaptured. However, this fire with possibilities of conflagraing and expanding is causing concern in the world. Petrol prices are bound to go up. The west has to think over some sterious ways to restore normalcy. The US, with the past experiences is not ready to get its fingers burnt again. However, it has dispatched its warships to the WesAsian waters. We sincerely wish that no escalation takes place and the stakeholders should settle the controversies through amicable dialogues.