"WE HAVE NO GOVERNMENT"

That is what an Iraqi man told me. He was an educated man and had a very good job. We talked for hours about Iraq so I was able to get a new perspective. At the time, I did not understand what he meant by his no government statement. Now I believe I do.

After a lot of research and just by watching events in Iraq, here is what I believe he meant:
I think we could all agree that the main function of any government is to look out for the best interests of it's citizens. That is not how the government of Iraq is acting right now. You basically have three groups in power and you have to examine their goals and who is behind them.

First you have the Kurds. They are the easiest group to understand. They have been persecuted for years and are looking for independence. They are mostly located in the northern part of the country.

Secondly you have the Sunni Muslims. They are a minority of the population but for many years they have had absolute control of the country. Like anyone else, they don't want to lose their power. Also, while they were in power they oppressed the Kurds and the Shiites so they are afraid that if they lose power they will suffer retribution. They are supported by Saudia Arabia with money and manpower. The main goal of the Saudis is to spread Sunni Islam and to prevent the rise of Shia Islam.

Lastly, you have the Shia Muslims. They are the majority of the population and they have been oppressed for years. Their leaders want control of the country where the holiest cities of their faith are located. They are backed by Iran and Syria the only two countries in the world where Shias are in control. They are hoping to spread Shia Islam throughout the world.

All the groups and countries mentioned have their own agendas and care very little about the average Iraqi citizen. The Iraqi people are just caught in the middle with nobody caring what happens to them. Therefore they say they have no government and it seems that they are right.

The only answer to the situation in Iraq is to have new elections. The government they have now does not have the interests of Iraqis at heart. All the people of Iraq will have to band together to get the foreign interests out and find leaders who are first and foremost Iraqis!!