Iraq is certainly experiencing tough times perhaps, needless to say, they are the worst in its modern history. But things have so far not reached the point of no return. So, why are some people attempting to promote civil war in the Arab country?
It is a question lingering ever since the capture of the former dictator in late 2003. Some leaders and analysts, especially in the Arab world, always tend to paint a grim picture of the conditions in the country, which has just emerged from a three-decade-long iron rule by a bloodthirsty regime.
The situation in Iraq sure is not rosy. But civil war it is not. If the civil war, certain people seem so eager to propagate, were to break, it would have started a long time ago. There have been many times when people thought the war would break out any day following the assassination of Mohammad Baqir Al Hakeem in Najaf three years ago, the bloody US-led offensive on Fallujah and Najaf and more recently the bombing of the shrines in Samarra.
But Iraqis, who know very well what wars mean, have always emerged united and determined to deny the terrorists the chance to pit a community against the other or plunge the country into civil war.
Iraqis, led by their president, prime minister and parliament speaker who represent the three major communities, were right when they asked others yesterday to mind their own business. Neighbouring states should stop interfering in Iraq's affairs, except to lend a helping hand. They should cease to use their influence to derail the political process and aid the terrorists.
Iraqis don't need lessons. They need the cooperation of other states to defeat terrorism because if a civil war were to break out, it will engulf the entire region, as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak correctly said on Saturday.
