Larsson läser
Janerik Larsson
Janerik Larsson
Sunday Times publicerar idag två artiklar som kopplade till varandra ger en bild av en mycket obehaglig framtid.
Det är dels ett kapitel från Henry Kissingers nya bok. Utdraget har fått rubriken The world in flames och tecknar en mycket dyster bild av det sönderfall som pågår i Mellanöstern. Kissinger pekar t ex på hoten mot stabilitet i Saudiarabien.
Zones of non-governance or jihad now stretch across the Muslim world, affecting Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Mali, Sudan and Somalia. When one also takes into account the agonies of central Africa — where a generations-long Congolese civil war has drawn in all neighbouring states, and conflicts in the Central African Republic and South Sudan threaten to metastasise similarly — a significant portion of the world’s territory and population is on the verge of falling out of the international state system altogether.
As this void looms, the Middle East is caught in a confrontation akin to — but broader than — Europe’s 17th-century wars of religion. Domestic and international conflicts reinforce each other. Political, sectarian, tribal, territorial, ideological and traditional national- interest disputes merge. Religion is “weaponised” in the service of geopolitical objectives; civilians are marked for extermination based on their sectarian affiliation.
Journalisten Miles Amoore rapporterar i en Sunday Times-artikel från den irakiska huvudstaden och här får man ett annat perspektiv på det Kissinger skriver om:
Blamed for a string of attacks, including the murder of Sunni worshippers in a mosque last week, the militias are also hindering efforts by Iraq’s new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, to form a more inclusive government.
Yet Shi’ite militia leaders such as Qais al-Khazali, who commands the Asaib Ahl al-Haq (League of the Righteous) militia, insist that Isis will never be defeated without his men.
Backed by Iran with weapons, money and expertise, the league is Iraq’s largest paramilitary force.
Its men are battle-hardened, fighting with devastating effect against the American occupation of Iraq and, lately, in Syria on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.
Coupled with widespread allegations of human rights abuses, the militia’s anti-American roots and Iranian ties make it an uneasy ally for western leaders as they scramble to find a way to cope with the rising threat of Isis.
Instead, the country is caught in a cycle of tit-for-tat sectarian murders that many believe will drag Iraq into civil war.
“Iraq will not be at peace for a very long time. It will be Sunni against Shi’ite to the end,” said Abu Abdullah in a terrifying portent of the bloodshed that many fear is yet to come.