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September 13, 2004

The American RajPolitics

Firangpolicypundit Fareed Zakaria notes that the American strategy of playing off Shia vs. Sunni in Iraq resembles that of British India (via Amardeep Singh):

The intractable security problems in Sunni areas coupled with some success in Shia ones might lead the Iraqi government (and Washington) toward a “Shia strategy” in Iraq… In many of its colonies the British would often favor a single group as a quick means of gaining stability. Almost always the results were ruinous—a trail of civil war and bloodshed.

manish on September 13, 2004 12:32 PM in Politics · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post



3 comments

 1 · vinod on September 13, 2004 04:34 PM · Direct link · “Quote”(?)

uh, not to nitpick, but it seems like Zakaria is cautioning against a potential issue rather than an actual "American strategy of playing off"?

In Iraq, the one truly pleasant surprise so far is that there has been little religious and ethnic bloodshed. Many of the experts who counseled against an invasion predicted that after Saddam's fall, the Sunnis, Shias and Kurds would tear each other apart. Nothing like this has happened. The problems—of resistance, nationalism and anti-Americanism—have been quite different. But the balance is fragile. If the United States and the Iraqi government play a sectarian strategy, things could unravel.

 2 · Manish Vij on September 13, 2004 05:47 PM · Direct link · “Quote”(?)

Fair enough, the quote says "might lead" as well. But to some extent, we're already playing divide and conquer.


 3 · Sluggo on September 13, 2004 07:48 PM · Direct link · “Quote”(?)

I've liked Zakaria's writing in the past, but since our 'So Called Liberal Media' hasn't been paying attention since the "Democracy Fairy" told them that the transition was done in July, I get my info from Juan Cole. I've been reading his blog for a while and he has a lot info on the all local politics.


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