New plan reflects US desperation

The US plan to build walls around a Sunni district in Baghdad reflects the level of desperation that the security situation has reached. It is also an indication of the Americans' failure to bring an end to the cycle of violence.

The five-kilometre concrete wall that is to be built around Adhamiya, a district that is surrounded by Shiite communities, is part of a strategy to "break the cycle of sectarian violence", according to a US spokesman. A couple of other areas will be delivered with similar walls as soon as the current one under construction is ready at the end of the month.

But would the approach of breaking the city along religious enclaves save the country from further bloodshed, or would it deepen the divide amongst communities as they are isolated and cut off from each other?

Almost two months have passed since the American administration started implementing a new security operation that was aimed at keeping the violence at bay. US President George W. Bush insisted the operation was "meeting expectations" and the "direction of the fight is beginning to shift", despite the rising death toll. But perhaps it is this misjudgment, lack of comprehension and underestimation of how serious is the ground reality, are factors making the bloodshed endless.

Over the past week alone, hundreds have died in horrific bombing attacks, which attest to the fact that the security situation has simply continued to deteriorate and innocent civilians continue to pay the price with their lives. The arrival of three US brigades in Baghdad as part of the security operations plan has certainly not made any difference to the security situation. It is critical now to find a fresh perspective - with strong Arab involvement - on how to deal with the continuing violence and division in Iraq.