Friday, August 1, 2014

The Sunni tribes in Northern Iraq may already be tiring of their ISIS neighbors.

The sudden and inexplicable success that ISIS has had in Northern Iraq was, to my mind, really due to the decision by the Sunni tribes living in that region to use them to kick out the Shiite Maliki government, who had lost their trust.

Since the real power in that part of Iraq lies with the tribes, I wondered how long it would be before they tired of the radical and violent brand of Islam that ISIS practices.  It appears that the honeymoon is over.


  "In what could be an indicative violent eruption of resentment and anger from the population, two Isis fighters were reportedly shot dead in broad daylight in the Qayara neighbourhood of south Mosul on Sunday. A witness told the Guardian he saw three assailants fleeing the scene through the city's narrow alleyways."
  "The initial joy with which Isis was received in Mosul, as liberators for the Sunni population after years of sectarian corruption and restriction at the hands of the Iraqi army, may already have run dry."
There will never again be an Iraq as we have known it in the past, but rather three countries: Sunni, Shiite, and Kurd.  
The tribes in the north now have what they want, the end of the national government dominated by the Shiites, and their next step will be to drive out, or reach some co habitation agreement with ISIS.  In the meantime, they will wisely allow ISIS to shoulder the burden of fighting the hated Shiites to the south, for as long as ISIS is willing to do it, but eventually, ISIS will go and the tribes will rule.

2 comments:

  1. The US should have partitioned that country Day-1. It was recommended and the Bush Administration decided against it.

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    1. Had to try to keep the status quo going for a while, but given their barbaric tendency to violence, they probably are better off in separate states.

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