Civil War Brooding Between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq?

[BurtWorm]

If civil war breaks out, only the Bushists will be surprised.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3216359.stm

...

Fifteen Kalashnikov rounds for the sheikh, 13 for his brother and nine for the young boy, according to people in Washash who had gone with the bodies to Saddam hospital.

"The gunmen killed them first and then emptied the magazines into the dead bodies," said one resident.

As far as the mosque faithful are concerned, there is only one explanation for what happened on Sunday morning.

Ahmed Khudeir was a Sunni sheikh at a Sunni mosque and he was killed by members of the local Shia militia, they believe.

The militia they have in mind - the Badr brigades - belongs to a leading Shia political party which has a seat on the US-appointed Governing Council.

...

[La_Serpiente]

1. They want revenge

I remember reading Veiled Sentiments by Dr. Abu-Lughod and she mentioned that the bedouins she researched would always engage in revenge if a member of their family was killed.

I wonder if the Shiites would do the same to the Sunnis since they are obviously angry after all of the biochemical weapons supplied by the US.

[BurtWorm]

2. I think they also want control.

Perhaps out of revenge, but probably for more realpolitik reasons as well.

[nomaco-10]

3. The Sunnis and the Shias

are united in their hate for the US occupiers. As soon as they have succeeded in expelling our troops from their country, they will turn on each other, another can of worms the cabal opened, I guess they got bad intelligence on that too.

[Maple]

4. I'm surprised

civil war between the two hasn't broken out long before this.

It's one of those things Saddam held in check.

[BurtWorm]

5. That's why it's not surprising if it does break out.

Saddam is not keeping it in check anymore, and neither is the occupation.

[Xithras]

6. Iraq should be split up

It is an artificial nation with artificial borders drawn by European colonialists with no real understandings of the peoples and political divisions among the regions population. Iraq needs to be split into two or three countries, so the Sunnis and Shias can each govern themselves the way they want.

Of course, that'll never happen because it would complicate our efforts to own the regions oil supplies :eyes:

[Old and In the Way]

7. I think you're right.....

Only a ruthless leader like Saddam could keep all the factions in line. I suspect that greater Iraq's days are behind them. Of course, there will also be the Kingdom of Halliburtonstan when the smoke clears.