Iraq Is a Proxy War with Iran by Rabbi Daniel M. Zucker

On July 9 it was reported that the Iraqi government of Dr. Nouri Kamal al-Maliki had failed to meet many of the benchmarks set for it. Although there are mixed reports about the success of the “surge” -- significant successes in bringing Sunnis to battle against al-Qaéda versus horrific daily casualty rates from suicide car-bombings -- it should not come as a major surprise that the current Iraqi government is not fulfilling its duty to produce a greater success rate and to foster reconciliation among the three major Iraqi ethnic/religious groups.

Why? Why shouldn’t we be surprised at al-Maliki’s failure to meet fully even one US benchmark?

First, let’s review a little bit of background information. Iraq’s multi-party political system seems to be difficult for many Westerners to understand. It is essential to overcome this failure of comprehension and come to a realization that within Iraq’s three major ethnic/religious communities there are many, many different political parties and groups.

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