Iraq: Party of Three

Iraq is in a brutal state of civil war with Sunni extremists partnered together with former Saddam Hussein supporters on a mission to overtake the country in jihad or ‘holy war.’ The Islamic State challenges Iraqi government who is allied partially with Kurdish Peshmerga troops.

The ISIS extremists have already conquered several TV and radio stations, a hydroelectric dam that can shut off water supply to millions of locals and they have taken control of at least 5 oil fields.

The brutality of ISIS knows no boundaries. Graphic images of beheaded children, reports of depraved attacks on women and murderous acts of violence against humanity have been leaking out of Iraq for several weeks.

Even with their inhumane acts, local citizens were shocked that ISIS soldiers were able to seize control of Iraq’s second city, Mosul. In fact, many of them suspect Iraqi leaders fled the city without putting up a fight.

When Mosul fell, Erbil was the next target for the jihad troops. Erbil is right on the road from Mosul to Kirkuk, the city Kurds consider their capital. That’s when ISIS rounded up over 50 thousand religious minorities and ordered them to convert or die. Kurdish forces were able to stave the militants off long enough to allow them escape west into the Sinjar mountains.

The United States military took quick action to deliver food and water to the trapped Christians and Yazidi citizens, while also issuing repeated air strikes against the ISIS artillery.

ISIS troops are using mainly weapons that they stole from Iraqi arsenals, the same weapons that the United States supplied. Now, the US is backing Kurdish troops with weapons.

The relationship between the Kurds and Iraqis has been tense at times, but almost always a peaceful one. Now, the Kurds are forming a soft alliance with Iraq, mainly focusing on protecting cities that pertain to them.

Opposite from the US-backed Iraqi soldiers, Kurdish forces claim they have much more personal ‘skin in the game.’ The overall morale of Iraqi citizens has been punished for decades, dating back to the murderous regime of Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile, the oil-enriched Kurds have maintained their pride and integrity.

The three different groups at play in Iraq are stuck in a sort of an awkward limbo. Like any lasting democracy, at some point, if Iraqi citizens want their freedom from tyranny, they will have to stand up and earn it for themselves.