More than a decade after the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq is still straining to get out of the war mode. Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, is today was one of the most fortified cities in the world, with army checkpoints everywhere, and militias, both Sunni and Shiite, becoming the de facto rulers of neighborhoods with obvious sectarian identity. It's the war of sects, fuelled with historical hatred that's bringing to the twenty first century differences from the first eras of Islam, making probabilities of compromises closer to temperature in the North Pole, below zero. When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, Amr Moussa, back then the secretary general of the Arab League, warned in an interview with Abou Dhabi TV that a bloody Pandora's box will open not only in Iraq but around the region. It seems Mr. Moussa was quite right, the insurgency or what's known as the "Iraqi Jihad" became the essence of any other insurgency in the region, Syria is an example, Libya during the fight against the regime of Moammar Gaddafi too, Yemen also is a case in point, groups that fought against the US occupation had to find a new enemy to encounter after the withdrawal in 2010, some stayed in Iraq and others roved around the region to find hotspots where they can use their expertise. Iraqi Shiite groups, on their side, had much chance to go into the Iraqi army while others, AlMahdi Army for example, kept their arms and later went to Syria to fight alongside the regime in its battle against the rebels. Today all are back to Iraq, what was called the Islamic state in Iraq became the Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant, while AlMahdi army and some of its defected groups brought back some of their seasoned commanders to defend what they believe are holy sites that their enemies want to destroy. It's much complicated than anyone thinks, it's not a fight between the above groups only, rather a disengagement within a nation that used to be one of the most influential states in the region. Sunnis and Shiites, despite some moderate voices, don't want to live alongside each other anymore, even though in the street people tend to veil such feelings with words such as "we are brothers", "we lived together for years", "we pray together and fast together", and the most used sentence "it's not the war of Iraqis, it's the war of others on the land of Iraq." This last one is what I heard continuously from Lebanese and Syrians who survive the state of denial refusing to believe or to admit they killed or are killing each other. Why are arms and bombs the language of dialogue in Iraq? Since the fall of Saddam Hussein the country was ruled by Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds, this was to reflect the diversity in the Iraqi society, the sectarian diversity, Sunnis and Shiites, and the ethnic diversity, Arabs and Kurds, a compromise similar to the one in Lebanon that was enhanced amid the civil war there. Back to Iraq, the Kurds had the presidency, the Shiites the government, and the Sunnis the parliament; a formula that was thought to be enough for all to live happily ever after, alas this wasn't the case. The Shiite prime ministers who ruled the country since the first government under the auspices of Paul Bremer, the former US representative in Iraq, failed to answer the Sunni partners' concerns, rather they enhanced the perception that the new regime is aimed trying to cast on Iraq a one-sect identity. Sunnis were very sensitive after the fall of Saddam, it wasn't because they enjoyed privileges, but due to fears that the day after the fall will see them marginalized given the majority of Iraq are Shiites. It was a wrong decision not to participate in the political process, mounting themselves a major blow that is one of the reasons of today's turmoil. Sunnis today are looking for autonomy, a status similar to the one of Kurdistan, while the government in Baghdad seems unready to even discuss the issue. Both sides have their own local and regional reasons, locally the above explains while regionally Syria is a main catalyst. Sunnis who are pro-Syrian revolution want to be able to control the area between the two countries, which is already happening now since ISIL's invasion of Nineveh province and their rapid control of western Anbar province. This will help them support their allies on the other side of the borders whenever possible. Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki's government that one of Syria's regimes' few allies in the region wants to keep control of the area to be able whenever needed to give a hand to their ally, something they've been doing for months now. The government is backed regionally by Iran, while the other side except for ISIL are openly supported by Saudi Arabia, the latter's media started calling the Iraqi Army Maliki forces a name similar to the one used in Syria for the Syrian army, Assad forces. Internationally ISIL is condemned and the United States during its the visit of Secretary John Kerry to Baghdad retaliated its commitment to fight the Al-Qaeda defected group, though this doesn't mean Washington is backing Maliki, what makes the whole pictures much complicated than anyone thinks.
