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July 25, 2008 4:58:02 PM CDT

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Iraq Splinters as Surge Quells Violence

Posted Dec 10, 07 2:21 PM CST in World 

(Newser) – The US troop surge has stemmed the bloodshed of Iraq's civil war but has failed in its other key objective of rebuilding the fragmented country into a cohesive nation. Ten months into the surge, Iraq has further splintered into sectarian strongholds run by warlords and militias, while the government's bickering factions spin their wheels, the LA Times reports.

The weak central government "has no political control whatsoever beyond Baghdad, maybe not even beyond the Green Zone," one international observer says. Each region has its own power struggle—militias war over oil resources in the south, ethnic groups fight for control of land in the north, and Sunni paramilitary groups clash with Shiite militias in Baghdad.

Source Los Angeles Times

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Iraqi policemen inspect the scene where a roadside bomb, targeting a police patrol, exploded in eastern Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday, Dec. 10, 2007. The attack injured four policemen and a civilian, police...   (Associated Press)
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the US army's Third Infantry Division, second left, speaks with Sunni Sheik Emad Ghurtani, right, in Haswah, Iraq on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007. October is on course to...   (Associated Press)
U.S. army soldiers from Blackfoot Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment kick down a door during an operation in the village of Walush in the volatile Diyala province, about 80 kilometers (50...   (Associated Press)
Shadows of U.S. army soldiers from Blackfoot Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment are seen as they search a rooftop during an operation in the village of Walush in the volatile Diyala province,...   (Associated Press)
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Iraq  • Iraq war  • Baghdad  • Green Zone  • Shiite militia  • Iraq Civil War  • Iraqi interim government


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