The Arab spring continues to be on the front page of regional and international media outlets and all the while Iraqs’ deepening humanitarian and security situation is being forgotten.
As loose talk of military intervention in Syria and a pre-emptive strike on Iran increases maybe policymakers should pause and take a look at Iraq today, and then reassess intervening or launching pre emptive strikes. Consecutive blasts, increased numbers of casualties and waves of bombings and shootings continue to terrorise Iraqi citizens on weekly if not a daily basis. In addition to that, Shias have increasingly become the target of terror as the Sunni Shia divide widens.
Do we want the same outcome for the Syrian people? Would a military intervention worsen the already existent sectarian divide? What would happen after? Would the West remain in Syria for 6, 7 or even 10 years? Would the economic and humanitarian situation resemble that of Iraq today?
