Violence continues to spike in Iraq as the power vacuum created by the US invasion in March 2003 continues to reverberate throughout the country. The American occupation of Iraq after the invasion did little to establish a viable political system as the political balance between Shia, Sunni, and Kurds remains elusive. More than 2700 people have died in Iraq in 2013, a number similar to the worst months of the American occupation. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any progress toward reconciliation among the groups as they jockey for power.
We often come across information which may or may not be significant. The US and Israel have just begun two weeks of joint military maneuvers. Such operations are usually scheduled long in advance and are meaningless from a policy point of view. However, given the recent rhetoric from Israel on the seriousness of the Iranian nuclear program, this operation may be more significant. Obviously, there’s no way to know. But it’s always useful to have such information tucked away in worst cases. And while there is an expectation that the Israelis and Palestinians will begin negotiations this coming week, there are reasons to be skeptical that anything tangible will come about as a consequence.
There have been two days of violent protests in some of the suburbs of Paris, triggered by police identity checks of Muslims. It is hard to say at this point whether the protests represent deeper grievances, but France experienced a long siege of political protests in 2005 over similar issues. Unquestionably, the economic difficulties of French youth are the fundamental underpinning of these protests.
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