Abstract

IRAQ: THE CHAOS DEEPENS

The article focuses on the conflict in Iraq between insurgents and the U.S.-led coalition. The destruction caused by the second U.S. invasion of Falluja was met with quiet outrage by Iraqis. The camp in the courtyard of the mosque at Baghdad University is home to about 900 refugees. Rather than "breaking the back" of the insurgency, it seems as though the U.S. military has only fostered a more durable fighting force. As election day draws closer, the guerrillas are conducting their own "shock and awe" campaign. Voter registration is being done through government ration distribution centers, and stories of intimidation of managers of such shops abound. There are 111 parties vying for the 275 seats in the national assembly, but most Iraqis can identify few of the candidates, save for well-known party leaders--the Electoral Commission has refused to release the lists, citing safety concerns, and few candidates are campaigning openly, for the same reason. The two main coalitions, the United Iraqi Alliance (a conglomeration of former exiles, including Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, former neocon darling Ahmad Chalabi and current Iraqi vice president and leader of the Shiite Dawa Party Ibrahim Jaafari) and Iyad Allawi's Iraqi List, are expected to fare best at the polls.