After 5 years of invasion and intifada in Iraq, a wall is born in the most tenuous area of the world. In a final push to pacify the Iraqi capital, George Bush is building a three-mile concrete wall along the most murderous fault line between Sunni and Shia Muslims. It is the most definitive fact on the ground in the 5-year history of the illegal Iraqi occupation.
It’s just beyond comprehension that how good is the idea to unify Iraq by dividing it through walls. In the light of months of bombing, the wall represents another symbol of the inability to resolve sectarian violence and recognizes the reality of the hardening sectarian divide in Baghdad.
Considering Democratic US Senate leader, Harry Reid’s statement that ‘this war is lost’, the wall would do little to bridge the sectarian divide.
Instead, experts have long been saying that the only way to end the guerilla war is through Iraqi politics - an arena that so far has been crippled by divisions between Shiite Muslims, whose coalition dominated the January elections, and Sunni Muslims, who are a minority in Iraq but form the base of support for the insurgency.
Iraq war was waged in an effort to plant democracy in the heart of the Middle East as a conceivable solution to extremism and terror. After toppling Saddam, Bush has been unsuccessfully looking for a partner in Iraq that could help him to save his reputation at stake after the famous victory message delivered to the nation.
The initial emphasis of the new American plan seems to be placed on securing Baghdad market places and predominantly Shia Muslim areas. It is more likely that civilians may find themselves inside a ‘controlled population’ prison and bringing democracy still seems a far fetched dream.
