The conflict in Iraq consistently is mischaracterized as a “war
on terrorism,” when in fact it is a civil war, says Mark Herman,
vice president of the global consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton
Inc.
The struggle is really about how much power the Sunnis can garner.
“No matter what happens with the Iraqi Constitution, anything
is going to be less than what the Sunnis had under the Saddam Hussein
regime,” Herman said. “We are standing there, trying
to do something they don’t want us to do: remove Sunni power.”
The upshot will be continuing violence against Americans and the
escalation of a civil war among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. “The
word terrorism there is misapplied,” he adds. “It’s
always been pretty much unmanageable without a dictator. Now it’s
going to devolve into three states.”