Introduction
Since the American troops stormed the deserts of Iraq in an object to reassure peace and order in the country amidst the political chaos, the country is still battling its internal issues starting with the dried up national wealth, political dysfunction, to constant resistance of the Islamic State (ISIS). These problems are causing further damage to the country’s political, social and economic well being and will continue to inflict more problems if left unresolved. The discussion will examine the aforementioned problems and provide insights as to what the government of Iraq should do with its persisting issues moving forward.
The Current Issues
According to the an editorial in The New York Times, Iraq is still unable to recover from the results of the political crisis that ended in the overthrowing of its former leader Saddam Hussein. There are several problems that the country is facing and the ones that impact the country the most is its dysfunctional political environment, the invasion of the Islamic extremists in Mosul, the impending disaster of the weakened dam, and the depleted treasury (The Editorial Board). Give the pressure that the Shiite Clergy supported by the American government and Iran on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the political arena in the country is facing scrutiny because of the proposed cabinet overhaul.
What Iraq should do Moving Forward?
Looking at the issues in Iraq, the root cause of the all the problems it is facing is the absence of unity among the leaders. It appears that the problem of weakened economy because of the oil price collapse, government deficits, and infiltration of Islamic State in Mosul is because the government itself is scrambling to bring the restructure itself. This political turmoil is largely attributed to the division of interest among the sectarian leaders outside of Baghdad, which exacerbates the already chaotic situation. What Iraq should do is to create a more structured government system that will accommodate the demands of the sectarian leaders through a political compromise. Outside mediation can help, but a direct involvement of the Western forces particularly the United States will only make the situation worst.
For starters, the Prime Minister should do something that hasn’t been observed during the time of Maliki, and that is to resist the temptation of coming after his political adversaries and focus on reconditioning the country’s economy. This will enable the government to restack its depleting resources and use it to re-establish development in hard-to-reach corners of the country left behind because of the constant focus on Baghdad alone. As for the sectarian groups such as the Sunnis, they need to settle on being members of a coalition and leave the Shiite’s majority rule at the moment because fighting the majority to get on top of political ladder will only add fuel to the fire. In addition, as long as the Iraqi citizens recognize their political identity with sectarian affiliations, the position of the majority will not be changed anytime soon. Moving forward, a consensus can be put in place starting with the Sunnis by coming to terms with the other ruling majority such as Shia and reconcile their differences.
Conclusion
The problems that Iraq is facing can be resolved by Iraq alone because decisions influenced by external forces particularly the United States and Iran will only make the situation worst. It has been more than a decade since Iraq was freed from its long years of suffering from dictatorship, it is time that the sectarian leaders and the national leaders to realize that political unity will provide the country with enough strength to address its other problems.
Works Cited
The Editoriral Board,. "The Baghdad Follies". Nytimes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 May 2016.
