Iraqis Be Responsible

The U.S. shoulders most of the blame for creating the current crisis in Iraq. We destabilized the country by unilaterally attacking Iraq under the mistaken belief that there were weapons of mass destruction. Our bombs ravaged an already ravaged county and our actions created the political vacuum that later became a battlefield for the Shiite and Sunni’s to wage war.

We may have created this crisis, but we are not guilty of perpetuating the crisis. The citizen leaders of Iraq shoulder the blame of escalating the hostilities and preventing a peaceful resolution. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t completely understand the political structure of Iraq. It appears that they have elected officials, but those officials appear to answer to religious clerics, who appear to be the “true” leaders of the country. In my opinion, these religious clerics have failed both the citizens of Iraq and their Islamic religion. They’ve failed the citizens because their actions have lead to thousands of deaths and millions of dollars worth of property damage. As far as I know, no cleric has denounced sectarian violence or called for ceasefire. No cleric has preached coexistence or suggested a meeting of the minds. Although I’m not an Islamic scholar, I feel the clerics, who are supposed to be religious leaders, have failed their religion because they’ve forsaken two key Islamic principles – tolerance and forgiveness to persons who share differing religious beliefs and practices.

The only people who can save Iraq are the Iraqi people. They have to reign in clerics who peach violence and intolerance. They have to silence their message of division and despair, and realize the sectarian policies are counterproductive. Most importantly, Iraqis have to learn that a multi-dimensional society can coexist and thrive. Which Iraqi citizen will stand up in the face of criticism and profess their dream of a unified Iraq where Shiite and Sunni’s can coexist?