Via the NYT: Many Iraqis Look to Gunmen as Protectors
Behind the maze of men with guns in Iraq is a very simple truth: their barrels offer protection, something Iraqis say the government has never given them.
When the state fails to establish basic order (or, in fact, when there is no state), men do what they must to survive. Further, those who seek power and influence will capitalize on the lack of order and use violence as currency.
The military appears to be run by public opinion through elected officials. Some have said that dividing Iraq into several secular pieces will not work. The Iraqi leadership appears to be involved in another matter entirely, as if there country was not in turmoil. And the citizens of Iraq are left to fend for themselves while the rest of the world sits idly by and does little. For those in Iraq who have done nothing wrong and simply would like just a little peace. I have much sympathy for them. But they don’t need my sympathy. They need a solution. Is it me, or has there been a complete absence of proposed solutions that might actually have a chance of success?
Comment by Stanford Matthews — Sunday, October 22, 2024 @ 12:15 am
It’s always nice to see someone track problems like this back to individual actors and their motives. Thanks Dr. Poliblogger.
Unlike the Sunni holdout/Al Quaeda insurgency, This is a problem that the CIA predicted. So they were a few years off. What’s taht among freinds?
Comment by Honza Prchal — Monday, October 23, 2024 @ 12:06 pm