Why Iraq Bombs Aren't Sparking Civil War

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 11, 2009 2:04 PM CDT

(Newser) – Iraq was rocked by two deadly, possibly destabilizing bombings this weekend, but the proof is in the reprisals, Larry Kaplow writes in Newsweek—and there were none. “Iraq today is a different place than it was when ethnic conflict threatened to engulf the country in 2006,” Kaplow continues. “The powder here is wetter than it once was.” And that’s due mostly to Shiite military power and restraint in the face of Sunni attacks.

True, “most of the bombings, which are carried out by Islamist Sunni insurgents, target Shiite Muslims, just as they did in 2006,” Kaplow writes. But Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia have bowed out of the retribution game. Most neighborhoods are now segregated, press coverage is minimal, and recent bombings have been in the provinces, where they affect the national mood less than violence in the capital. And PM Nouri al-Maliki is keeping order with twice as many troops as he had in 2006. Instead of killing, they respond with a slightly less reprehensible tactic: Sunni profiling.

[Images (3)]

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A man walks past a destroyed truck after a double truck bombing tore through a Shiite minority community near northern city of Mosul. (AP Photo)

The sites of recent bombings in Iraq. (AP Photo)

People gather at the site where a double truck bombing tore through a Shiite minority community near the northern city of Mosul. (AP Photo)

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The Sunni speaker of Parliament was calling on the government to stem what he called a deteriorating security situation. But the streets in the capital were full of the usual bustle. Tolerance in Iraq is always precarious, but for now, it is holding. - Larry Kaplow

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 7 comments

freethemall

Aug 16, 2009 6:02 AM CDT

Your post was quite informative and interesting, none the less, Jayhawker.

metalworldorder

Aug 12, 2009 10:49 AM CDT

Maybe I'm just ignorant, but if they're so against each other, why not have the sunnis and shiites get their own autonomous province? Maybe they do and I don't know about it. But Kurdistan seems alright and it's just kurds...

freethemall

Aug 11, 2009 11:24 AM CDT

I'm an Obama Democrat, but I'll say this: Bush certainly made the right decision when he canned Rumsfeld. Trouble is, it took him 6 years to do it. BTW, W's choice of Gates as a replacement was also good, as was O's decision to retain him.

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Iraq • sectarian violence • Sunni • Shiite • Nouri al-Maliki • bombing • Muqtada al-Sadr • reprisal

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