The Western powers – who had long-since had occupying forces (long before World War I) in many of the lands of the Muslim Mediterranean-Middle Eastern world ruled by the once powerful Ottomans – were carving-up that post-WWI empire, knowing that the Ottomans were finally about to collapse. In 1916, with a wink and a nod from Imperial Russia, France and England signed the very-secret Sykes-Picot Agreement allocating their “spheres of influence” over the spoils. In late 1920, as the League of Nations made carving up the Ottoman Empire official, England was awarded control of a country with very artificial boundaries called the “State of Iraq,” made up of the an awkward ethnic mix of multi-religious Kurds in the north, Sunnis mostly in the southwest and Shiites in the rest.
Throughout history, Sunnis – who believe that every Muslim should read the Qur’an and that a the government was there to protect the faith but not to be the faith – and Shiites – who believe that the Qur’an is a mystical book that only the highest religious leaders (who are also the supreme governmental authority) can interpret – have been exceptionally uncomfortable with each other; slaughter and persecution was a way of life for the majority Sunnis (about 85% of all Muslims) against a very unpopular Shiite following. In the 10th century AD, when the Shiites lost their supreme leader – the 12th Imam under mysterious circumstances – they became rudderless and marginalized until 1979, when an Islamic revolution in Iran, gave their faith new legitimacy and new military power.
When the United States occupied Iraq in 2003, it did what Americans often do; we assumed that Iraq was a potentially functioning political entity that would prosper under a constitutional democracy, even though at no time did the people of Iraq ever vote to be a single nation. 15-20% of the population are Kurds (a mix of faiths, including Christianity, Islam and several unique blends) with little in common with the remaining almost-all Arab nation, of which Shiites are the majority (around 60-65%) and Sunnis (30-35%) the rest. Under Saddam Hussein’s brutal leadership, Sunnis ruled through his dictatorship. And of course, with an American democracy, majority rules – Shiites trumped both Kurds and Sunnis. Iran, which had fought a ten-year war with Hussein in the 1980s, was smiling, perhaps giddy with the opportunity; their brethren were in control in neighboring Iraq.
Al Qaeda is an alliance of Sunnis terrorists; Shiites have their own assemblage of terrorists, mostly operating under the Hezbollah banner with lots of financial and other support from Iran. When Iraqi Sunnis began turning to al Qaeda for support against Shiite death squads and violent Shiite-enforced redistricting (literally pushing many Sunnis out of their homes), the U.S. responded by recruiting, training and arming bodies of Sunnis to protect themselves and to purge al Qaeda influence from their midst, mostly under so-called “Awakening Councils,” giving locals much more control. U.S. fighting forces have now exited Iraq, leaving the military and police powers to the Iraqi government, a government that is very pro-Shiite. The Awakening Councils and vast numbers of Sunnis now feel abandoned by the U.S., left to fare for themselves in hostile Shiite territory. The Shiites have little to fear; they are not only in power, but there are very much under the protective wing of Shiite Iran, particularly those factions which believe in religious rule.
The latest batch of “WikiLeaks” documents (from U.S. military sources) reveal waves of supporting evidence as to Iran’s heavy involvement in Iraq: “[The leaked U.S. government] field reports disclosed by WikiLeaks, which were never intended to be made public, underscore the seriousness with which Iran’s role has been seen by the American military. The political struggle between the United States and Iran to influence events in Iraq still continues as Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has sought to assemble a coalition — that would include the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr — that will allow him to remain in power. But much of the American’s military concern has revolved around Iran’s role in arming and assisting Shiite militias.
“Citing the testimony of detainees, a captured militant’s diary and numerous uncovered weapons caches, among other intelligence, the field reports recount Iran’s role in providing Iraqi militia fighters with rockets, magnetic bombs that can be attached to the underside of cars, ‘explosively formed penetrators,’ or E.F.P.’s, which are the most lethal type of roadside bomb in Iraq, and other weapons. Those include powerful .50-caliber rifles and the Misagh-1, an Iranian replica of a portable Chinese surface-to-air missile, which, according to the reports, was fired at American helicopters and downed one in east Baghdad in July 2007.” New York Times, October 22nd. Kidnapping, training and cold hard cash also were and a re part of Iran’s extensive involvement in Iraq, part of what the Times calls “the shadow war between the United States and Iraqi militias backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.” Through surrogates, the U.S. has been in a shooting war with Iran for a long time; based on who runs Iraq today, we lost.
The October 17th New York Times reports this disturbing reaction among an increasing number of Iraqi Sunnis: “Although there are no firm figures, security and political officials say hundreds of the well-disciplined [Sunni] fighters — many of whom have gained extensive knowledge about the American military — appear to have rejoined Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Beyond that, officials say that even many of the Awakening fighters still on the Iraqi government payroll, possibly thousands of them, covertly aid the insurgency... The defections have been driven in part by frustration with the Shiite-led government, which Awakening members say is intent on destroying them, as well as by pressure from Al Qaeda. The exodus has accelerated since Iraq’s inconclusive parliamentary elections in March, which have left Sunnis uncertain of retaining what little political influence they have and which appear to have provided Al Qaeda new opportunities to lure back fighters.” These Sunni militants have reached beyond their borders for an extrinsic ally to balance the clear relationship between Iraqi Shiites and Iran.
The U.S. had tried to get the formal Iraqi government to hire these Awakening-trained militia to balance the government forces: “As of July, less than half — 41,000 of 94,000 — of the Awakening’s fighters had been offered jobs by the government, according to the United States Defense Department. Much of the employment has been temporary and involved menial labor. The government has hired only about 9,000 Awakening members for the security forces, with officials blaming budget constraints.” The Times. The government is trying, for obvious reasons, to disarm the rest without giving them meaningful work. “‘At this point, Awakening members have two options: Stay with the government, which would be a threat to their lives, or help Al Qaeda by being a double agent,’ [said Nathum al-Jubouri, a former Awakening Council leader in Salahuddin Province who recently quit the organization]. ‘The Awakening is like a database for Al Qaeda that can be used to target places that had been out of reach before.’” The Times.
Haven’t we been down this road before? Wasn’t there a civil war that began when we unseated Saddam? Didn’t we say that this democratically elected government was a viable nation? Oh, yeah, we also said that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction too. It looks as if this unstable political “alliance” foisted on the country by the U.S. is beginning to unravel… again. Iran has much to celebrate; this time, it may get the whole pie directly or indirectly. I wonder when we will get that “thank you” note from Iran’s President?
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