Amir Taheri has an interesting take on the continuing violence in Iraq. First, he notes that Iraq is, overall, rather quiet.
In a country where state authority has ceased to exist while the police presence has been cut to less than 20 percent of its pre-war strength, it is a feat of civic discipline that some measure of law and order is maintained throughout a territory as large as France. One reason for this relative calm is that most Iraqis, tired of decades of despotism and war, have little stomach for further violence. Another reason is the success of religious and tribal elders and leaders to keep their respective constituencies under some control.
Then he details three main categories of violent actors, including remnants of the Saddam regime, "mafia style" organized crime, and ethnic & religious factions. The article is hard to excerpt, so just go read the entire thing. Not too long and worth it.
via the New York Post
Posted by Alan at July 21, 2003 08:28 PM