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Article: The hard road ahead: Mariam Shahin reports from Iraq on the continuing tussle between myriad factions for power and, ultimately, control of the new Iraq.(Iraq)
- Article from:
- The Middle East
- Article date:
- May 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 IC Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Iraq, in brief, is in chaos; a mess. It is ruled and run, influenced and swayed, robbed and enriched by scores of diverse interest groups, some masquerading as countries, some as multi-nationals, still others as patriots or men of God. But none are as influential or as potentially dangerous as those masquerading as would-be-leaders.
The men in question at this early stage are all Shi'ite Muslims. What they want is power at any price. All were opponents of the ancient regime, not just the Baathists, but the 500 year old leadership dominated by members of the Sunni Muslim branch of Islam. The presence of the Americans in Iraq is essential to their elevation to ...