Dulaimi invites regional Sunni nations into the war
Iraq is unravelling quickly. Any pretense of "unity" dies today.
Let's remember that this is coming from the top mainline Sunni politician who, up until a week ago, was a part of Maliki's government. Now he's asking for assistance in the civil war.
The really interesting thing to me about this is that while he is appealing to regional Sunni nations, a good part of this appeal is aimed at the emotions of "the street."
It's an indirect call not only for regional national support, but also for private assistance and foreign fighters.
Sunni-Shia politics are dead. We're now entering the open regional war.
Iraq's most senior Sunni politician issued a desperate appeal Sunday for Arab nations to help stop what he called an "unprecedented genocide campaign" by Shiite militias armed, trained and controlled by Iran. The U.S. military reported five American soldiers were killed, apparently lured into an al-Qaida trap.
Adnan al-Dulaimi said "Persians" and "Safawis," Sunni terms for Iranian Shiites, were on the brink of total control in Baghdad and soon would threaten Sunni Arab regimes.
"It is a war that has started in Baghdad and they will not stop there but will expand it to all Arab lands," al-Dulaimi wrote in an impassioned broadside e-mailed to The Associated Press.....
"Arabs, your brothers in the land of the two rivers and in Baghdad in particular are exposed to an unprecedented genocide campaign by the militias and death squads that are directed, armed and supported by Iran," al-Dulaimi said.
And he castigated fellow Sunnis in the Middle East, saying they "did not make any move and did not even bother to denounce what is taking place against your brothers at the hands of Iranian militias and death squads."
Let's remember that this is coming from the top mainline Sunni politician who, up until a week ago, was a part of Maliki's government. Now he's asking for assistance in the civil war.
The really interesting thing to me about this is that while he is appealing to regional Sunni nations, a good part of this appeal is aimed at the emotions of "the street."
It's an indirect call not only for regional national support, but also for private assistance and foreign fighters.
Sunni-Shia politics are dead. We're now entering the open regional war.
posted by mikevotes at
2:13 PM
8 Comments:
What a bizarre situation. The US has virtually handed Iraq to Iran on a plate.
By
Anonymous, at 3:15 PM
I keep coming back to the conspiracy theory that the administration's real goal all along has been to start a Sunni-Shia civil war and thus keep the Muslims busy fighting each other.
But then I always realize, No, this is the Bushies. They really are f***ing stupid enough to do it inadvertently.
By
Anonymous, at 4:01 PM
I can't see Bush being smart enough to think that far ahead. I think he was sold a bill of goods....same as Congress.
By
Anonymous, at 4:21 PM
Anon, Just the good parts. This article really troubles me because there's really no easy way back from the next step. In this appeal, Dulaimi is basically abandoning any political process that might be left and is calling for open war.
If there is any response at all, even foreign fighters coming in from this request, the ball is already rolling down the hill.
Plus, the appeal to the street pretty much forces the Sunni governments to respond in some way. For their own politics they can't be seen ignoring this plea.
.....
And Tom, yeah. I do that every once in awhile.I attribute competence far beyond what's warranted.
I feel pretty sure that there are policy papers out there advocating exactly that, but, the way we've gotten here tells me that it wasn't intentional.
Besides, the Sunni/Shia war interrupts alot of oil supplies in Saudi, Iran, and Iraq and I don't think this administration would intentionally go down that road.
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mikevotes, at 4:33 PM
Is it possible the various Iraqi Parliament's August recess was really a pretext for each of the factions to consolidate local (regional?) power and to, in their minds, more effectively fight -- literally -- for control? That is to say, was there an unspoken understanding -- a wink and a nod -- among Iraqi politicians that the August recess was really the end of the government. That the players have shifted to plan B (or whatever letter we're on) which is open conflict and a "hot" war to wrest control from the dirty Sunni/Shi'a/Kurd... pick your sectarian hate group?
By
-epm, at 7:25 PM
My sense is that it wasn't that explicit. I think they all knew that nothing was going to get done, so why sit in the Green Zone and wait for another bomber.
I think the idea of them wanting to return to their geography to manage their power does make sense. With the heated atmosphere of shifting alliances, armed groups, and tons of emotion things can change pretty quickly.
And, I don't know what the official death point is for the Maliki government. None of the Iraqis expect it to survive, but none also seem willing to be the one to pull the life support.
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mikevotes, at 10:00 PM
"And, I don't know what the official death point is for the Maliki government. None of the Iraqis expect it to survive, but none also seem willing to be the one to pull the life support."
Sounds like a failed marriage where neither party wants to be the one to walk out.
I wonder if this recess will be seen as a mutual walking out of the marriage. No one's to blame, it's an official time out. Rather than seeing it as any one group walking out, come Sept. we'll simply see no one willing to return... Just a guess.
By
-epm, at 11:05 PM
I don't know if they'll be allowed to passively not return. They blocs will have to offer statements if they don't.
And, most of this action is taking place within the cabinet, not the parliament. Everyone, so far, is staying in the parliament.
Technically the cabinet is not on vacation, although they have not met in some time.
By
mikevotes, at 11:55 AM
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