With the situation in Iraq hardly improving, a strong disagreement has occured between the coalition government and the US forces over some of the miltary operations aimed at the insurgents. The Iraqi government and the US forces firmly disagree over the civilian casualty figures during various anti-insurgency raids. Although it is a fact that ordinary Iraqis often get caught in the crossfires but the Americans have blamed the government of quoting absurdly high casualty figures compared to official military estimates.
The coalition government in Baghdad fears that a rising civilian casualty would definitely make the situation more complex and dire. Powerful extremist groups will regroup and take the advantage of the people’s miseries by recruiting young Iraqis to fight coalition forces and the Iraqi government. With a crumbling economy and unemployment at an all-time high, the lives of ordinary people across the devastated country are unbearable and such a situation gives terrorist organisation of Al-Qaeda’s nature a perfect excuse to carry out more attacks in the country and make the security situation beyond any repair.
Last week a rare deal between a Shia and a Sunni group in Baghdad to stop violence and start negotiations has given the government and the US army a flicker of hope of a broader ceasefire. But the latest US attack on an insurgent hideout, in which 15 civilians were killed, has made the Iraqi government nervous about the consequences. Many government analysts and politicians believe that the continuous killings of innocent civilians, especially women and children, would give rise to popular anger against the country’s government and all hopes of a possible reconciliation among the conflicting parties would vanish in the air.
Al-Qaeda has already launched a veiled attack on those tribal and insurgent groups that have shown their intent to take the path of negotiations rather than meaningless conflicts. The feared terrorist organisation has called on the Shias, Sunnis and Kurds to unite and launch attacks on the US-led government. Political and military strategists believe that this is a clear sign of a possible rift among various ethnic groups in the country. A long-drawn bloody conflict since the fall of Saddam Hussein might have taken the toll on some of the influential Shia, Sunni and Kurdish groups. As a result the Iraqi government believes that this is the high time to win the hearts of the people of Iraq in general and calls on the Americans to reduce the air and ground assault in order to improve the situation.
link:guardian
image link:stockphototalk
