Is it possible to have a secular government in Iraq?
I don't think so. While there are many in the global community that would like to see a secular government in many areas of the world, including Iraq, is it reasonable to believe it is possible?
The ethnic and religious divides among the people of Iraq is far more than superficial. It is profound. The divides reach deep into the religious basis of the people. Right now it is nearly impossible to expect Iraq to survive a struggle for a secular government. It isn't possible.
The region is lucky in that there is land and water to provide space for many people of different cultures, religions and ethnicity. In that reality is the understanding there does not have to be a war for land and/or resources. The region can accommodate the division of Iraq into the basic understanding of the people. That is a good thing. What occurred when Bosnia came into the picture was more a struggle for land than ethnic identity. The ethnic identity, no different than the horrors of the Third Reich, were convenient to the means to an end.
If there is any chance ethnic and religious divisions will result in a peace between all nations for the benefit of the region, then that is the solution.
Regardless of the final outcomes written by lines in the sand, the Shi'ites now know they have an obligation to it's population in having a strong military basis to fight these wars with extremists. The Shi'ites have to defend themselves.
The Kurds have already mastered their missions into war. The Kurds need allies and that is difficult right now because there is no sovereign nation with borders to define them. Not long ago there was no South Sudan either.
I don't think so. While there are many in the global community that would like to see a secular government in many areas of the world, including Iraq, is it reasonable to believe it is possible?
The ethnic and religious divides among the people of Iraq is far more than superficial. It is profound. The divides reach deep into the religious basis of the people. Right now it is nearly impossible to expect Iraq to survive a struggle for a secular government. It isn't possible.
The region is lucky in that there is land and water to provide space for many people of different cultures, religions and ethnicity. In that reality is the understanding there does not have to be a war for land and/or resources. The region can accommodate the division of Iraq into the basic understanding of the people. That is a good thing. What occurred when Bosnia came into the picture was more a struggle for land than ethnic identity. The ethnic identity, no different than the horrors of the Third Reich, were convenient to the means to an end.
If there is any chance ethnic and religious divisions will result in a peace between all nations for the benefit of the region, then that is the solution.
Regardless of the final outcomes written by lines in the sand, the Shi'ites now know they have an obligation to it's population in having a strong military basis to fight these wars with extremists. The Shi'ites have to defend themselves.
The Kurds have already mastered their missions into war. The Kurds need allies and that is difficult right now because there is no sovereign nation with borders to define them. Not long ago there was no South Sudan either.
