Iraq The Model has much more on the aftermath of the bombing in Samarra. Meanwhile, Iraqi blogger Zeyad paints a very distressed picture of the situation. American blogger Bill Roggio doesn’t think that civil war is all that likely.
We can’t afford to be too sanguine. There are plenty of positive developments – Ayatollah Sistani has called for calm, the Sunnis don’t seem to fighting back, and some of the reports of violence may be exaggerated. At the same time, Sunni clerics have been killed and kidnapped, there’s unquestionably large numbers of Shi’a militants causing problems, and the whole situation is a powderkeg waiting to go off.
In all depends on the Iraqis. If they choose civil war, they’ll get it. If calmer heads prevail, the Iraqi people can unite against the terrorists who wish to divide them. Whoever is responsible – be it al-Qaeda, the Mujihadeen Shura Council, Iran, or a yet unknown band of terrorists, they deserve to be brought to justice. Violence and bloodshed in Iraq will make that much harder to achieve. The people of Iraq must not allow this event to play into the hands of criminals and terrorists.
