Iraq Is On The Brink of Civil War Again

Iraq On The Brink, Again -- Ryan Crocker, Washington Post

Ryan Crocker was ambassador to Iraq from 2007 to 2009. He is the Kissinger Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute.

The situation in Iraq has taken a very dangerous turn. Events there in recent days are reminiscent of those that led to virtual civil war in 2006 and resulted in the need for a surge in U.S. troop levels, a new strategy and very heavy fighting. Indeed, the places where the violence has erupted are eerily familiar, as many were strongholds of al-Qaeda in Iraq at the outset of the surge, before the spread of the Awakening movement that fostered reconciliation between disaffected Sunni Arabs and the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. The recent events come on top of increasing incidents of horrific attacks by al-Qaeda in Iraq, with last month seeing the largest losses in years — and they take place against a backdrop of increasingly serious political discord. These developments clearly require the attention and support of the international community, led by the United States.

Read more ....

Update #1: Sunni unrest revives fears of sectarian war in Iraq -- Reuters
Update #2: Maliki's policies are pushing many into Al Qaeda's camp -- Hassan Hassan, The National

My Comment: The old sectarian differences and animosities .... long kept under check by Saddam Hussein and later by U.S. forces .... are now becoming unleashed. And with the sectarian civil war in Syria now escalating .... the chances of the same thing happening in Iraq are getting better with each new bombing and atrocity.