The Maliki regime blames all terrorist acts (frequent car explosions, often in markets,
cafes and mosques) on al-Qaida, selectively choosing not to mention the
regime's own militias: Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Iraqi Hezbollah, factions of
the Mahdi army, the Badr brigades and the Mokhtar army.
A common
belief among Iraqis is that only agents connected to the nearly 1
million strong army and security forces, and especially to the Special
Forces (inherited from the occupation, trained by the US and now
attached directly to Maliki's office) could carry out such sustained and
widespread campaign of terror.
Why is it that so many come to the
conclusion that most atrocities blamed on al-Qaida are actually the
work of the regime, its factional fighters, and regional actors with
links to security services? It is because the regime is the embodiment
of the sectarian divide entrenched by the occupation. Its constitution
and political process, nurtured by the US and UK, has spawned a
kleptocracy of warlords, charlatans, and merchants of religion. Yes,
al-Qaida is a presence. But the sectarian political parties that
mushroomed after the invasion are also fighting each other, killing
thousands of civilians in the process. Almost 3,000 people were killed
in acts of violence between July and September this year alone with
three times that number wounded. Many of those wounded often die due to
lack of medical services. Acts of violence are presented daily on Iraqi
TV like the weather forecast in Britain. They are destroying the very
fabric of society and pushing people who have been living together for
centuries to speak and act about "them" and "us".
-- Haifa Zangana, "No more arms to Iraq, Obama" (Guardian).