Neither can constructing a wall divide the citizens of a country nor can it bring peace to the region. The Americans however has oversimplified the idiom that out of sight is out of mind and have thought that the only solution that lay in bringing peace to Sadr City in Iraq was to build a wall that will keep the warring Shiites and the US-sponsored Iraqi government away from each other’s view and establish peace in the region. Proving the Americans and the Iraqi government wrong supporters of Moktada al-Sadr the anti-American cleric is implementing overt as well as covert tactics to blow the wall.
Working day and night, the American soldiers have completed nearly 80 percent of the barrier but crude attacks from the Shiite militia have blown quite a few gaps in the wall that the Americans are finding difficult to repair. US tanks, helicopter rocket strikes and even satellite-guided bombs have failed to silence enemy fire.
To bring peace to Sadr City a truce has been signed between Sadr and Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Maliki brokered by the Iranians who now seem to enjoy as much influence on the Iraqi government as the Americans. However, the battle is continuing and shows to sign of abating. The Shiite cleric is not prepared to disband his army and surrender its medium and heavy grade weapons. It now wants the Iraqi government to demolish the wall. With the Maliki government, still being unable to garner wide spread popular support and with US remaining a predominant power in the country, no concrete barrier can bring peace in the city.
via:New York Times
