The minority Sunni are the largest obstacle to peace, what about the minority interest of the Kurd's?
818523
Kurds are living large and having a wonderful time while their southern friends are killing themselves.  In addition, as long as the US is around the Turks can't come in and take their oil (as they so want to do).\n\nSo, as long as this Civil Ward (doh) - conflict I mean - continues they will build a strong country and be able to defend their new country that will not be part of Iraq when this is all said and done.\n\nInitially, the US wanted nothing to do with the Kurds having their own country.  But, while there is so many other problems we are leaving them alone and gave up on that thought.
185958
there are no problems\nunless you are talking about the situation in Iraq\nthe fire between the Iraqi Sunnis & Iraqi Shias was raised by the Americans who`re playing the same dirty game the English played when they Invaded Egypt & tried to make problems between the  Muslim Egyptians & the Christian Egyptians\n\nother than that no problems\nIf you are talking about relegious difference\nwe all follow the same Quran\nbut the Shais (some of them) reject the first 3 succesors of prophet Muhammed & say that the 4th succesor should have been the first but some of them however blew this thing out of proportion to the extent that they called them with bad names but not all the Shais are like this, there is for example the Zaidya(Shias divide into many segments some are good & some are bad) who`re almost not different from the Sunnis
383488
Not much.\n\nIt's a country that is quite religious.  It was in a war against Iraq in which the US propped up the Iraqi side so now has some legitimate gripes against the US.\n\nThe people are no doubt like people all over the world.  Some good some bad but generally want the same opportunities as anyone else and just want to live in peace and harmony.
906782
Shiites backed by Iran, after they eliminate the Sunnis, they will turn for the Kurds. The Kurds are sitting on the oil fields. There will be your war for oil!
1046670
NO, Muslims are doing that to themselves.\n\nArab nations are often held together only by miltiary rulers, as Iraq used to be.\n\nAfghanistan, Iraq, these nations not used to any form of democracy are finding that the peoples that were held down by the military would prefer self-rule to continued domination.  And of course, each remaining sect hates the Israelis as well.  About theonly thing they agree on.
283470
The Kurdistan Workers Party (Kurdish: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan or PKK), also known as KADEK and Kongra-Gel, is a militant organization, dedicated to creating an independent Kurdish state in a territory (sometimes referenced as Kurdistan) that consists of parts of southeastern Turkey, northeastern Iraq, northeastern Syria and northwestern Iran. Its current ideological foundation is revolutionary Marxism-Leninism and Kurdish nationalism. It is an ethnic secessionist organization using force and threat of force against both civilian and military targets for the purpose of achieving its political goal. The PKK is defined as a terrorist organisation internationally by a number of states and organisations. Also the Kurdish rebel leader of the group, Abdullah Öcalan, has declared his own guerrillas as "murderers".\n\nThe PKK emerged as an organization during the 1970s and developed into a formidable paramilitary organisation which rendered much of southeastern Turkey a war zone in the late 1980s and 1990s. Its actions have mainly taken place in Turkey and against Turkish targets in other countries, although it has on occasions co-operated with other Kurdish nationalist paramilitary groups in neighbouring states, such as Iraq and Iran. The PKK argued that its violence was justified by the need to defend Kurds in the context of what it saw as massive cultural suppression of Kurdish identity and cultural rights carried out by governments in the region. However, in its campaign, the PKK has been accused of atrocities against both Turkish and Kurdish civilians. Its actions, along with those of the Turkish state have been criticised by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.\n\nThe degree of support for the PKK among Turkish Kurds is disputed. In some of the strongholds of Kurdish nationalism in the Tigris valley and mountainous regions on the Iranian border, PKK-linked parties have consistently polled close to or over 50% of votes cast in elections. However, PKK-linked parties have polled at most approximately one-third of the Kurdish vote (between 5% and 8% of the total Turkish vote), with the majority of Kurds voting for mainstream parties. In some of the more assimilated Kurdish areas, claimed by the PKK as part of 'Kurdistan', support for PKK-linked parties is at 10% or less. There is some electoral support for PKK-linked parties among Kurdish migrants in cities in Western and Southern Turkey such as Adana, Mersin and İzmir. \n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PKK
975965
You seem to think that the same Iraqis who vote are the ones involved in the sectarian strife.\n\nThe people committing the violence are fighting to destroy the Iraqi democracy.\n\nDo not assume that a few terrorists speak for the Iraqi people.
89905
This is one way for the insurgents to keep the pot stirred.  You must understand that the Sunnis are supported for the most part by Syria and the Shiites are supported for the most part by Iran.  In the middle is poor stupid Iraq still playing into each of their hands by trying to assemble a sectarian government.  Iraq must assemble a secular government and keep Islam out of the picture if it expects to survive the power struggle between the two factions. The extremists are supporting the Sunnis, yet the Mosque that was hit was a Shiite Mosque.  Frankly, I don't think the insurgents care who's Mosque they bomb as long as they can keep the two side running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
412070
It is necessary to make a clear distinction between the Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin and the PKK. Turkish citizens have various ethnic backgrounds. These ethnic backgrounds contribute to Turkish cultural richness. Turkish laws do not discriminate among citizens, there is complete legal equality. Turkey has achieved full equality with respect to the fundamental rights and freedoms, the application of the rule of law, and the participation to political, social and economic life. The problem of PKK is purely of a terrorist nature. Not only law enforcement personnel, but also the civil population, women and children, teachers, doctors, judges, public officials, all constitute potential targets for PKK. It attacks hospitals, trains, buses, touristic facilities, and particularly development projects planned to raise the life standards of the inhabitants of this region. It is therefore the basic duty of the government to guarantee the protection of people’s life and property against the PKK terror organization. This is the State’s raison d’être. \n\nThe PKK is a terror organisation which operates on a Stalinist model along the lines of Shining Path in Peru and Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The extreme violence to which the PKK continuously resorts has not been limited to Turkey. The PKK and its front organizations have also perpetrated acts of violence in many west European countries where they have at times found a conducive environment for their propaganda and subversive activities. They have become a major threat to law and order in Europe. Germany banned the activities of the PKK as well as 35 of its front organizations on November 26, 1993. There was also great public uproar against the PKK violence in France, which resulted in police raids on many of the PKK affiliated associations. 24 people were arrested and the Kurdish Committee and YEK - KOM were banned. These actions have delivered a significant blow to the financial resources of the PKK which funds many of its acts through illegal drug sales. But according to German weekly magazine Der Spiegel’s August 14, 1995 edition, PKK still collects 30 million German Marks a year in Germany alone, mainly through extortion and "protection taxes."\n\nPKK is by no means representative of Kurds living in Turkey. Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin, like all the citizens, elect their representatives to the National Assembly, from their electoral constituency. In a country where all democratic channels are accessible to claims of all citizens, there exist no ground which could justify terrorism. In fact, PKK has tried to prevent newspapers from being distributed in the region, has attempted to ban the opening of offices of mainstream political parties in southeast Turkey, threatened the candidates of political parties running for local elections or tried to impose election boycotts. All these attempts have failed. Democratic processes functioned and the turn out in the last elections was high. \n\nThere are four basic reasons which enable the PKK to continue to exist as a terrorist organization: \n\nThe support given by some neighboring countries \n\nThe income from illicit drug smuggling \n\nThe continuation by the PKK of its activities in some Western European countries by exploiting freedom of expression and other democratic rights; \n\nThe large sums of money forcefully collected from the Turkish citizens living abroad. \n\nTherefore, it is imperative that there is international cooperation against the PKK should be carried out abroad. Important responsibilities fall on the part of the Western Governments, the media and the non-governmental organizations. The final document adopted at the end of the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in June 1993 states that the acts, methods and practices of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations are activities aimed at the destruction of human rights, fundamental freedoms and democracy, and calls on the internationa
548792
I agree with the majority here...it's intolerance that fuels most of these conflicts.  For example, the bulk of what is causing the unrest in the Middle East is a clash of cultures...one seeks to bring about a global caliphate per the instructions of its religious tome, the Quran.  Westernized nations mostly reject theocratic rule, and therein lies the conflict.  One cannot tolerate the other since they both are so diametrically opposed.  This results in open hostility and since one side is largely ineffectal in its miltary ability, they resort to subversive tactics such as terrorism and subterfuge.
543021
Hi there. I am not related into these matters in any way, I am just an IT professional so my knowledge is very limited. Country is suffering mostly from Kurdish terrorists and some fundamentalist Muslim terrorists. As I know some of these measures are:\n\n- Aviation security. I noticed airports are more secure than it was 5-6 years ago. Surveillance cameras, tighter scanning of luggages and passengers, photos at the passport control etc.\n- Stricter control on change of addresses, money transfers, etc.\n- New photo identity cards with microchip is coming soon.\n- Stricter control on the borders of Northern Iraq and Iran.\n- Allowing Kurdish media and language schools.\n- Special security forces to tackle terrorist groups inside the country.\n- Tracking people that are frequently travelling to countries that support terror. Unfortunately there are EU member states in the list.\n- Tracking European media run by terror organisations.\n- Narcotics police is working hard on the drug trafficking issue that is the main financial source for Kurdish terrorists. I guess the fundamentalist Muslims are funded by some Middle Eastern countries run by sheria law.\n\nI am sure a lot going on this issue, but that's all from me :-)
755020
unity is impossible in iraq. The religious factions are too seperate. Unless a dictator is reintroduced there can't be peace because the people there hate each other and us. Divide them up, give them militaries to defend themselves and create a weak federal government with a strong military as a deterrent
711967
mmmm I guess because everyone that isn't an arab or muslim is an enemy to them?? Kind of narrows the available resources don't you think?
1007178
"Kurds" are a group of people who living in "Iran", "Iraq" and "Turkey". They are part of these countries population.\n\n"Kurds" speak one of two dialects of "Kurdish", a West Iranian language related to Modern "Persian". Traditionally nomadic, most were forced into farming by the redrawing of state borders after World War I (1914–18).\n\nAlso, "Kurdish" nationalist party.\nIt was founded in Turkish Kurdistan in 1978 and sought to establish an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey. It attacked Turkish interests and fellow Kurds suspected of collaboration with the Turkish government, often from bases in Iraq and Syria. The group's leader, Abdullah Öcalan, was arrested by Turkey in 1999 and was thereafter tried and convicted of treason. At its peak, it claimed 5,000–10,000 members.
1150990
LOL they cannot even combine to quit trying to defeat themselves. the Sunni's kill the shi'ites and the shi'ites kill the sunni's in retaliation. Let me know how that turns out.
996290
Sectarian violence forments into civil war... While some may think this acceptable, remember this would be a war between racial/religious groups which cross beyond the borders of Iraq. Iran will more forcefully help shias; Majority Sunnis outside Iraq will support minority sunnis. \n\nRuling Bath Party in Syria will support former bath regieme elements - recall the purpose of the Bath party is pan-arab nationalism, meaning to establish one massive Muslim county covering all the mid-east thru north africa to southern spain and back the other way across turkey into the balkans, on across thru afghanistan to former soviet stans - that also by the way being the goal of al quaida. \n\nThen there's the Kurds, they want a home country of their own on tradtional land they live on right now, problem being that's part of Northern Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, & Jordan. If Iraq is to be divided, even if the Kurdish state is oonly in Iraq, all kurds in those other countries will be ready to rise up, and those countries will attack to supress them first. \n\nIn short, massive regional civil war requiring the involvement the entire world just to stand between the parties (that being what we do today in Iraq with 130k). It results in World War 3 in the short-term. In the longer-term you've proven AGAIN to the muslim world how weak & scared we are. The only reason they are still fighting is because they believe we'll run away if they can hold out long enough. They believe that cause we did it in Vietnam & in Somolia, and now the democratic element is calling for the same in Iraq. The only reason they were brave enough to attack us on 9/11 (same with Japaneese at Pearl Harbor) is because they think they can live thru teh initial anger & that we're really to cowardly & lacking in fortitude or committment enough to stand against them. It's a battle of wills for the sould of the world. You can suffer in the name of good or surrender to evil.
963859
They dont want to come out and say it but Iraq is now entrenched in a civil war.  The Iraqui army is composed of people from opposing sides so there is the problem with their ethnic loyalties thus making  impartiality impossible.  Its a tough call.