Iraq War Causing More Trouble

The Middle East has always been a volatile region, but it seems that the warin Iraq is making it even more so. Sectarian violence is sprouting up inPakistan even though this isn't necessarily new, it seems to have the signs of becomingworse.

Reuters: Deathtoll hits 15 in Pakistan sectarian clashes

PARACHINAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Sectarian clashes between Sunni and Shi'iteMuslims raged unabated in a remote Pakistani tribal region on Sunday, and theconfirmed death toll in three days of fighting rose to 15, officials said onSunday.

Sectarian violence has bedeviled Pakistan since the 1980s, and thousands havebeen killed in tit-for-tat attacks, although the vast majority of PakistaniSunnis and Shi'ites live in peace.

Men in the ethnic-Pashtun tribal lands typically bear arms, and the Talibanand al Qaeda have won support among Sunni Muslims in poorer parts of theFederally Administered Tribal Areas.

Part of the problem is the Taliban and al-Qaeda have a lot of  supportin Pakistan.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told CNN in an interview back inSeptember 2006, Iraqwar makes world more dangerous

Pakistan has helped the U.S. capture some Taliban and al-Qaedamembers, but because of the support those two groups have in Pakistan, stay awayfrom assisting in going after the higher ranking members.

This is just further proof that we shouldn't be putting allout focus on Iraq. We are depleting our military in Iraq, when we should be redeployingthem home and along some of the borders, and once things settle down, continueto bring them home.

 

Comments

[Chief Administrator: Todd]

Yeah, this story is absolutely huge. The traditional media often understates the fact that by going into Iraq, we helped spark a wave of regional sectarian violence that spans from Egypt to Pakistan. And now leaders such as Ahmadinejad are using this regional sectarian violence as an excuse to consolidate power domestically, and strip away Democratic freedoms. The longer we are in Iraq, the less stability there will be in the Middle East. And you can't have democracy without stability.

[George]

"We are depleting our military in Iraq, when we should be redeploying them home and along some of the borders..."

This is the absolute truth. This whole war is exactly what our enemies wanted out of 9/11. This is a battle of attrition and we are losing it because we are simply stupid. All we had to do after 9/11 is settle the score in Afghanistan by killing Bin Laden, put some fucking locks on cockpit doors, and re-organize intelligence gathering. That's all 9/11 was - a failure of intelligence combined with cockpit doors with no locks. Now look what we have - the Middle East on the brink of disaster (or past the brink - im not sure - because the US News does not report it very much).