What Bush’s War on Iraq Wrought

from Consortium News:


What Bush’s War on Iraq Wrought
February 10, 2013

Ten years ago, President George W. Bush and his allies were putting the finishing touches on their unprovoked invasion of Iraq, a conflict that ultimately killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and left behind a devastated nation torn by sectarian violence and a possible civil war, as Adil E. Shamoo writes.

By Adil E. Shamoo


All indicators are pointing to a looming sectarian civil war on Iraq’s horizon. It is possible to avoid this civil war, but so far, the country’s leaders are not willing to compromise, and outside parties show little interest in stopping it.

They should care more than they do: if not resolved, a bloody civil war in Iraq will fuel the rising conflict among Sunni-Shiaacross the Middle East — now in Lebanon and Syria — with the potential of spreading into other countries and inviting extremists to take advantage of the conflagration.

Of course, the United States’ nine-year occupation of Iraq unleashed this friction between Sunni and Shia, the underlying inferno that keeps Iraqis killing each other. According to Iraq Body Count, 4,505 Iraqis died from violence in 2012-409 in the month of Ramadan alone.

Many will say this is civil war already, with numerous groups carrying out suicide attacks, bombings and outright assassinations on a daily basis. No one knows for sure who is responsible most of the time, but invariably it is Al-Qaeda, Sunni militants, lingering Baathists, sectarian fighters, and insurgent nationalists who are to blame. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2013/02/10/what-bushs-war-on-iraq-wrought/