Worse than a civil war? Yes - much, much worse.

Webster defines a Civil War as a war between different citizens of the same country. Perhaps that seems to imply to President Bush and those who advise him that a civil war should be two different sides like in the American entry in civil wars in which two different armies squared off against each other.

What is going on in Iraq though, is much worse that that simple, model civil war. It is more like a free-for-all brawl. Like Vietnam. Does anyone remember Vietnam? (No, I really mean does anyone in D.C remember Vietnam?)

In Vietnam there was North Vietnam vrs South Vietnam, but in the southern part there was also the Viet Cong against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Then there was a parade of American-selected South Vietnam leaders such as Ky, Thieu, Huong, Diem, Van Mihn, and so on.

So Iraq is not only a civil war, it is also a series of civil wars like Vietnam was, but worse even than that: Iraq is an ancient battlefield for war lords. Ancient hatreds that have simmered for more than a thousand years in places, shoved to the back burner because of Saddam can surface at any time, raising questions of pay-back, questions of family honor, questions of subjugation and endless variations on all of those themes. But Iraq is STILL much, much worse than even that!

Because in addition to being a civil war, and being a series of civil wars, and being a land of century-old blood feuds among warlords, it is also a religious war. Not just a simple religious war even, but a collection of religious wars. Sunni against Shiite against Kurds against Jews against Christians, and add in the Wassabis, Sufis, evangelical Christians, Orthodox Jews, Hamas, Fatah, Hezzbollah and whatnots. And even the Shiites, to choose only one faction, have several on-going factional disputes among themselves.

Forget any good the American forces and mercenaries may have done over there. All we represent to many Iraqis are the shock and awe of Abu-Ghraib, deportations to Guantanamo, renditions, Hadithas, Falujas, torture, and things the American press has never cared to hear about plus a recurring, years-long inability of the mighty American powers to restore water, electricity and even gasoline supplies. To the Iraqis, that simply means we don't really care.

© John Womack, 2006.