and the county is heading towards a collapse.
That is just two of the many depressing conclusions of a briefing paper (pdf) by Gareth Stansfield from the UK foreign policy think tank Chatham House. Not anything new for anyone who reads the Dailykos or Jaun Cole, but it is nicely packaged into British English, easily digestible for any of the main stream media. What is interesting is his description of the different groupings in Iraq, and the social breakdown, Iraq’s neighbors, and the failing of the Bushies policies.
I could use this in a high school class to give a concise overview of the actors in this conflict, and analysis of the current situation.
Here’s my take of this briefing:
It includes a description of the major forces in and about Iraq that are involved in the conflict, and a general description of the devolving of the Iraqi social structure where he among other things quotes a young Iraqi blogger Iraqi Konfused Kid.
The briefing accuses the Bushies of pursing strategies that suit ideal depictions of how Iraq should look, having nothing to do with the reality of the current situation, and concludes that things are getting worse in Iraq with the social infrastructure torn apart, making it hard to find something to build upon a future. Many civil was and insurgencies are involved in regional and national power struggles, and these and other sectarian, ethnic or tribal political groupings are seeking to undermine, overthrow or take control of the current Iraqi government, which is unable exert authority evenly or effectively over the country. In this chaos, it will take years, not months to be able to normalize the security. Iraq’s neighbors are better suited to influencing the current situation than the coalition of the democracy crusaders, who with their surge are spreading violence all over Iraq and enabling Al-Qaeda to build momentum and establish a real presence in Iraq.