Iraq was never united as a country, it was coerced

Submitted by Ken Besig (Israel), Apr 13, 2004 at 12:45

Iraq has never enjoyed unity as a nation, it is too fragmented for that. Iraq has always required a strong man to coerce the three large factions who live in that region, the Kurds, the Sunnis, and the Shiites to live together in a state somewhat less than peace but just a little less than open warfare. Saddam Hussein accomplished this by massacre, mass murder, torture, and the wanton destruction or theft of the property of those Iraqis who failed to participate in this reality of Iraq. Perhaps Iraq and the region would be better off if each of these groups achieved autonomy, something less than independence, but something more tribal groupings.

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