Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJuan Cole: What Do Iraq’s Sunni Arabs Have in Common with Ferguson, Mo. African-Americans?
What Do Iraqs Sunni Arabs Have in Common with Ferguson, Mo. African-Americans?
Posted on Aug 21, 2014
By Juan Cole
If prime minister-designate Haidar al-Abadi in Iraq is to hope to defeat the so-called Islamic State (actually a kind of mafia made up of serial murderers and marauders), he must find a way to re-incorporate Iraqs Sunni Arabs into the government, which has been dominated by Shiite religious parties since 2005, partly because of Neoconservative U.S. preference for Arab Shiite rule under the Bush occupation.
Al-Abadi has succeeded in getting a pledge from the largely separatist Sunni Kurds to hold off on leaving Iraq and to participate in his government at the cabinet and parliamentary level in Baghdad. (Kurdistan is an ethnic super-province a little like French-speaking Quebec in Canada, but with much more autonomy from the central government; Kurdistan president Masoud Barzani has threatened to hold a referendum within six months on complete secession and independence).
A Sunni Arab political bloc, al-Hall (Solution), led by Jamal al-Karbuli has sent a letter to al-Abadi detailing their demands. Al-Karbuli (or al-Karbouli) had led a faction within the old Iraqiya party coalition which has been the main vehicle of Sunni parliamentary politics in recent years. He blames Iraq violence and bombings on Shiite Iran.
They want the thousands of Sunni Arab detainees (accused of anti-government activity by outgoing prime minister Nouri al-Maliki) given an amnesty;
They want a fair distribution of cabinet seats and government jobs (the only kind of reliable jobs there really are in Iraq) with regard to the Sunni Arabs, tens of thousands of which were fired in the past decade and replaced with Shiites; ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/what_do_iraqs_sunni_arabs_share_with_ferguson_mo_african-americans_20140821
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 478 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (2)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Juan Cole: What Do Iraq’s Sunni Arabs Have in Common with Ferguson, Mo. African-Americans? (Original Post)
marmar
Aug 2014
OP
GeorgeGist
(25,326 posts)1. More importantly ...
the Sunni arabs in Iraq and Saudi Arabia need to get off their asses and help purge IS from THEIR ranks.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)2. du rec.