So, Just How Bad Is It in Iraq? as per Christian Science Monitor

LSSpam said
Flat out false again. History amply demonstrates the orgy of violence you see is what is artificial. It never occurred on this scale before. Not under Saddam, not under Qasim, not under the Faisals, not under the British. Not under the Ottomans, not under the Caliphate.

The idea that this is somehow their "natural state" is offensive and ridiculous. It's not. The current violence is strictly a consequence of the machinations of ourselves, Iran, Wahhabi extremist, deposed Baathist party members, etc. Consequently it can also be resolved by those parties, namely the defeat of/compromise with them.

Violence in and of itself has its roots elsewhere. Violence is just the symptom. Addressing just security, without getting at the root causes gets you nowhere in the long run and we are out of our depth in addressing the root causes because we see them from the perspective of what kind of Iraq is best for America, not what kind of Iraq the majority of Iraqis want.

The natural state of "Iraq" is a strong and ruthless central authority that suppressed the centrifigal forces. This is what has allowed "Iraq" to persist as an entity.

Had we not allowed the Republican Guard to crush the Shiite uprising in '91, you might have seen this happen sooner.

What you have in the modern era is that we are at point in history where these people have been impverished for more than a decade and have grudges stemming from the Saddam years. On top of the natural differences and fueds, they now have control of oil to fight over.

You have a good old fashioned civil war and things are not going to straighten out until it resolves itself according to local dynamics, for local reasons. However, we are there with veto power over outcomes we do not accept, which might be the natural outcome for the people that actaully live there.

Maybe Iraq should break up. Maybe left to their own devices that is what the locals would conclude. But they are not to go through the process because our presence limits the possible outcomes according to our interests, not theirs.

Many people find reality offensive. That's why they resort to drugs, alcohol or other mood altering substances.