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US, Iran security cooperation could help save Iraq

Tehran and Washington must act together to manage the crisis in Iraq before the volatile divide between Shiites and Sunnis becomes an all-out sectarian war and destabilizes the region.
Militant Islamist fighters on a tank take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags

Syria and Iraq are spiraling into total chaos and appear headed toward a Somalia-style failed state run by warlords and a haven for extremist terrorist groups. The deep fear, as expressed by US President Barack Obama June 22, is that the militants that have seized territories in Iraq and Syria, if not confronted, will grow in power. In such an eventuality, logic suggests that the menace may spill over into other countries, not unlike the way Syria’s unrest spread into Iraq, destabilizing the whole region.

Another major threat that may emerge from the recent developments is that of the volatile divide between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq being exploited by terrorists and leading to an all-out sectarian war. The emergence of this scenario would probably lead to Iraq’s localized conflict becoming a regional war, dragging in major actors outside Iraq, from states to militia groups.

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