If Iraq is to have a viable future as a single country, its Sunni and Shiite populations need to be able to trust each other and work together. Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has frequently outlined his inclusive agenda for the government, but his credibility is waning rapidly as months pass without him delivering much. And the Iraqi armed forces seem to have collapsed as a military unit. Last Sunday, they lost Ramadi, the capital of the Al Anbar province, to Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) who succeeded in capturing the Eighth Brigade army base, along with tanks and missile-launchers left behind by troops, raising memories of a year ago when Daesh found it easy to capture Mosul, including all its massive military resources.
In the face of these repeated military failures, the government has been forced to rely on Iranian-backed sectarian militias that are operating under loose government control, known as Popular Mobilisation Forces. Al Abadi relied on these Shiite militias to retake Tikrit, and their alleged excesses, including partial ethnic cleansing of Sunni populations, have not been properly investigated or denied by the government. This is why there has to be grave concern about the same forces going into Ramadi. If the government-backed forces revert to their sectarian roots, Iraq will face a grave crisis as the whole of Al Anbar will be watching and they will draw their own conclusions. People will cease to believe in the inclusiveness of Al Abadi’s government and will continue to back a breakaway faction, which is currently fronted by Daesh.
