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Iraqis fear sectarian battles could erupt into civil war { May 30 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002292911_iraqmood30.htmlhttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002292911_iraqmood30.html
Monday, May 30, 2005, 12:00 A.M. Pacific
Iraqis fear sectarian battles could erupt into civil war
By Jeffrey Fleishman
Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Explosions rip through marketplaces, scattering blood and vegetables and leaving mourners wailing in the alleys. Bodies bob in rivers and are dug up from garbage dumps and parks. Kidnappers troll the streets, sirens howl through morning prayers, and mortar rounds whistle against skylines of minarets.
Iraqis awake each day to the sounds of violence. With little respite, many fear weeks of sectarian and clan violence, claiming everyone from imams to barefoot fishermen, are a prelude to civil war.
"I'm worried 24 hours a day," said Zainab Hassan, a university student majoring in computer science. "Whenever I hear bombs or shooting I call my mother and husband to check if they're OK. I can see a civil war coming, it's obvious. Everybody is talking about it. We have to be more careful."
Iraqis like Abu Mohammed, a balding book seller along the Tigris River, struggle to comprehend how the euphoria of January's election withered so quickly.
If a better life was coming, many Iraqis believe it never made it here, and there is plenty of blame to go around.
Two-track war
Interviews with Iraqis from Basra to Baghdad to Mosul suggested that much of the nation fears the intensifying strains between Sunni and Shiite could ignite a conflict that would overwhelm the increasingly unpopular Iraqi government and 140,000 U.S. troops. Abu Mohammed blames, among others, Saddam Hussein, who, even from his jail cell, seems to taunt the country.
"Saddam created hostile sentiments between Sunni and Shiite," Mohammed said. "It was like a fire hidden under a cover and waiting to turn into a blaze. The remnants of Saddam Hussein are now trying to stoke and enlarge this fire. I blame both the Shiites and the Sunnis for playing parts in stirring up hostilities."
In recent weeks, more than 700 people have been killed in car bombings and by shootings and beheadings. What concerns U.S. officials and everyday Iraqis is that militant leaders such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are attempting to instigate a two-track war: one, the continuing battle between insurgents and U.S. and Iraqi forces, and another between Sunnis and Shiites that could draw in Kurds from the north.
"It's time for Iraqis to stand together to foil the dirty attempts of the enemies to implant sectarian war on this injured country," said Naim Salman, a civil servant in Baghdad. "The government is trying its best, but it is still not enough. It is a new government and it needs time, especially when terrorists are infiltrating ministries."
The Sunnis were the beneficiaries and power behind Saddam's Baathist regime. Many of them, including influential leaders, opposed the new Shiite-dominated government and made up the heart of the insurgency. Some Sunnis have begun to rejoin the political process. But the government has been unable to persuade the nation's minority population to abandon its suspicions, and the squabbles in the corridors of the National Assembly have inspired religious- and clan-motivated violence.
Nafi Alfartoosi, editor of a newspaper in Samawa in Shiite-dominated southern Iraq, said, "The failure of the government to stop sectarian terrorism of Sunnis against Shiites has deepened the gap between the government and the people. I am sure that many of the millions who voted are sorry for going out on January 30. This weakness in stopping sectarian terrorism and halting bloodshed is encouraging [those seeking a civil war]."
Sunni and Shiite organizations, along with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, have sought to calm tensions over the past week. But the effort was hindered by an upward spiral in violence that, since April 29, has resulted in the killing of at least 10 Sunni and Shiite clerics, including the slaying of Mohammed Tahir Allaq, a representative of one of the nation's top Shiite leaders, Ayatollah Muhamed Saeed Hakim. Some Shiite and Sunni leaders have blamed one another for assassinations.
Images of the coffins of clerics being carried through the streets have unnerved a public that has had scant peace since Saddam was toppled two years ago.
Poll
A recent poll by Baghdad University found that earlier this year more than 80 percent of Iraqis believed their government would become stronger in coming months. That has dropped to 45 percent today.
With the insurgency killing more civilians, anger against U.S. forces has intensified. Many Iraqis view the United States as an unwanted godfather, who despite his prowess and streams of military convoys, can't give them the basics let alone protect them from extremist elements that badger the nation with Internet screeds and radio rants of jihad.
"I only want to put this question to you," said Sana Abdul-Kareem, a dentist with four children. "Why can't the U.S., with all its might and capabilities, impose security here? How come with all our oil they cannot provide us with electricity? My son was so happy when the American soldiers first came. But after two years of failure to make good on their promises, he abhors them."
Denial
Many Iraqis choose denial to cope. They will tell you their families are an intermingling of Iraq's classes and religions, and that they have lived in harmony for generations. But every day, new families line up outside the morgues and new names are added to graveyards. They blame it on terrorists and outside forces, who, they say, manipulate their lives much like Saddam did.
"It's a policy of divide and conquer being applied by our occupiers," said Abu Izz, a Baghdad antiques dealer who was born in Fallujah.
"You may not believe this, but some of my relatives are pro-mujahedeen [Sunnis], and others are members of the Badr Brigade [Shiites], and others are clergy. This is how we are interrelated."
"Iraq is one nation, one land and one heart," said Sinaa Ali Musa, a state worker from Samawa.
But Musa, a Shiite, conceded there are divisions. "I think the Shiite are being subjected to all kinds of terrorism because the Sunnis are losing power."
Others claim the Sunnis are victims.
"There has been a flagrant violation of Sunni rights," said Saad Abdul Aziz Siqar, a Sunni from Basra. "This is affecting relationships between the two sects and could lead to war. ... The Shiites have power and authority over us and are treating us like a minority."
Navigating such chaos psychologically, and even on rural roads and city streets, has trapped many Iraqis.
"It's the same problem everyday, traffic, traffic, roads are closed and in addition to that we have national guards aiming their weapons towards us," said Tanya Mazin, a student at Baghdad University. "We are living in stress and fear. I do not think this will end one day because it's going from bad to worse."
Los Angeles Times reporters Suhail Ahmed, Saif Rasheed, Zainab Hussain, Othman Ghanam, Hassan Halawa and a correspondent in Mosul contributed to this report.
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