IRAQ (2)

The Americans left only two days ago, but already Iraq seems to be falling apart. The Vice-President, who is a Sunni Muslim, is wanted on anti-terrorism charges and is in effect hiding out in the Kurdish region in the north of the country. He says that the arrest warrant is part of a plot by the Prime Minister, a Shia, to discredit him and grab power. In other words, Iraq's Sunni/Shia divide, which the Americans tried so hard to bridge, is in great danger of fracturing, as soon as they are no longer there to hold the ring. Given Iraq's history before, during and after the war, this is very worrying.

Walter Blotscher