Syrian crisis raises concern of Iraqi Shiites

The escalation of events in Syria, a neighbouring country of Iraq through borders that extend for more than 600 kilometres, worries the Iraqi public, particularly the Shiites who represent two-thirds of the country about the influence of extremist Sunni Muslims. Of particular concern are those Sunnis who support al-Qaeda's ideology with which Iraq had suffered a traumatic experience for years. The most important points of worry are: no mutual trust between Iraqi Sunnis and Shiaas due to government failures that have widened rifts between the two Muslim sects over the last nine years. Second is the existing system, which is beset by problems as a result of opportunism and exploitation by the so-called political parties which are clearly exercising corruption and looting . The third point is the Shiite's sheer mistrust in their governments that represent them in name only without any support on the social level.  The popular support for the people of the Anbar province as well as the Free Syrian Army, the armed Syrian opposition group, is reflective of this. Anbar shares close relations with Syria due to its proximity to the neighbouring country, easing the access of foreign militants from various countries into Iraq under the pretext of fighting US forces. This resulted in the formation of an "Awakening" is beginning to result in the killing, destruction , violation and unjustified assassination of tribal figures and inhabitants of the city. This Awakening ended with the expulsion of foreign operatives in the city, including al-Qaeda and its fighters by the hands of Dulaimi families, which was led at the time by Abdul Sattar Abu Risha. Risha was a tribal leader who was killed in a suicide attack in 2007 after he managed the Awakening to control all areas of Anbar, then an al-Qaeda stronghold in Iraq. This Awakening came into conflict with the marginalisation and sectarianism of Sunnis by the Iraqi government which is majority Shiite. This makes the Sunni tribes inch closer to a "revolution" against the government, especially if they receive external support from Syria after the fall of Assad and the Gulf states that support a new order.  The Shiite public fears that the fall of the Syrian regime means an end to the Alawite-majority government which has provided shelter during the last 50 years for Iraqi Shiiites and the pre-2003 Shiite opposition forces. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is himself an Alawi. Alawiites are an offshoot of Shiia Islam.  Nowadays, the Iraqi government that is considered an empty organisation which can fall at any moment despite the coherence that it is trying to show. It has failed to control internal security despite the recruitment of more than 200,000 security officers and a huge budget amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars for security ministries. All this proves is that it will be enabled to control its borders if there is an attack base in Syria.  The conflict, then, will be shifted into an ideological struggle (Sunni versus Shiite). The conflict at first  was limited to traditional approaches through books, lectures, then in a through the Internet and satellite television. It will turn into a bloody fight to the end for both parties and, of course, given that the supporters of the Sunnis are funded much more than the Shiites, who have no source besides an economic crisis-hit Iran. The Shiites themselves, despite the presence of Shiite influential parties in power , do not trust the parties but have continued suffering from their poverty and practices and behaviour from the corruption in the government. They believe that Iraq is going through a deterioration of morals, and if continued, the political scene will witness a complete collapse of the infrastructure of the state and the Iraqi society, becoming an entity with no values. Certainly, when the morality system of the state and the society collapses, the nation shall fall. Consequently, exploiters that control the political process in the federal capital will not care for what is happening and its effect ont he present and future of Iraqis. They only want to exploit and take advantage of the situation, they are going to loot and steal  the resources, money, wealth and property, directly and indirectly, of the country and  then flee to distant countries with their booty, taking advantage of their dual nationality .  -- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.