WP: Iraq sectarian strife imperils entire region

[sabra]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15721405/

Iraq sectarian strife imperils entire region
Analysts say civil war is a reality, but real worry is that chaos will spread

BAGHDAD, Iraq - While American commanders have suggested that civil war is possible in Iraq, many leaders, experts and ordinary people in Baghdad and around the Middle East say it is already underway, and that the real worry ahead is that the conflict will destroy the flimsy Iraqi state and draw in surrounding countries.

...

"We're not talking about just a full-scale civil war. This would be a failed-state situation with fighting among various groups," growing into regional conflict, Joost Hiltermann, Middle East project director for the International Crisis Group, said by telephone from Amman, Jordan.
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‘Regional war is very much a possibility’

In Damascus, a Syrian analyst close to the Assad government warned that other countries would intervene if Iraq descended into full-scale civil war. "Iran will get involved, Turkey will get involved, Saudi Arabia, Syria," said the analyst, who spoke on condition he not be identified further.

"Regional war is very much a possibility," said Hiltermann, the analyst for the International Crisis Group. Iraq's neighbors "are hysterical about Iranian strategic advances in the region," he said.

[bemildred]

1. Gee, who could have predicted this? nt

[ninkasi]

2. This whole thing is a nightmare

Bush and the neocons are responsible for so much death and disaster, and if they were normal people, they would now be consumed with guilt. The bitter truth, however, is that even knowing what an unmitigated catastrophe his war has caused, will not cause Bush to lose one minute of sleep, or feel one pang of remorse.

Even knowing how bad it is, and knowing how much worse it will get, even that knowledge will not stop Bush and Cheney from attacking Iran, if they decide they want to. Meanwhile, things get worse in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Those countries are like broken toys to Bush, not fun anymore, so he'll look for another one to feed his massive ego. I don't see how we're going to be able to do anything but impeach them both, if America is going to survive with it's economy, and reputation still capable of being salvaged.