America Ushers In Era of 'Sectarian Affiliation'
Calling the operations of the Iraqi government, 'comparable to the former Taliban regime,' this op-ed article from Iraq's Azzaman newspaper laments that if it was Washington's hope to create a non-sectarian government based on merit - it has utterly failed to do so.
By Fatih Abdulsalam
November 28, 2005
Original
Article (English) 
Shiite Man Hugs Relative's Coffin, Killed in Sectarian Attack.
Sectarian division and the chasing after illegal profits are the greatest hallmarks of the new era ushered in by U.S. "liberation" troops.
Indeed, sectarian affiliation has now replaced loyalty to country and flag. You no longer need to be honest and patriotic to get a government job, for example. Sectarianism has become the road to riches, influence and government jobs.
The American occupier, already in a quagmire, has a big role in this. There is no need for the U.S.-installed Iraqi government or officials to hide their sectarian tendencies. Iraqis should be well aware of the tragedy such polices have brought upon the nation.
The ministries are divided along sectarian lines. Therefore when a new minister assumes his post, the first thing he does is exclude employees who belong to the opposite sect and replace them with members of his own sect.
This doesn't only happen at senior levels. The new minister strives to make sure that people of sects other than his own not be appointed - even as janitors.
Cabinet ministers owe their existence and loyalty to sectarian and ethnic parties that award them their posts. To please their masters, these ministers resort to practices that are even worse than those reported to have taken place when former leader Saddam Hussein was in power.
The ministries receive their orders from their political factions, the main target of which is to strengthen their popular and military base in the country.
Government officials are keen to enroll their employees in the parties they belong to. As a result, the ministries have become arenas for sectarian rivalry - and to hell with reconstruction, living standards and public amenities.
'The Iraqi Reconciliation Conference in Cairo' [Al-Ayyam, Palestine]
Cabinet ministers today have very little to do with human and constitutional rights. To please their sectarian factions, they apply rules that are comparable to those under the former Taliban government in Afghanistan.
Administrative and political arrangements similar to those of the Taliban have taken root in many ministries and provinces in the country.
Shrouding these practices with the veil of Islam gives these ministers leeway to achieve their short-sighted sectarian goals at the expense of the nation.
The U.S.-sponsored administrations' aim has been to make as much profit as possible, whether economic or political, in the time they have in office.
Iraq is in need of a government that puts an end to political feudalism and sectarianism, and puts loyalty to the nation above political and sectarian allegiance.
VIDEO FROM AL-QAEDA: 'MARTYRDOM SEEKERS' EXPLAIN IRAQ BOMB PREPARATIONS
Internet, Location Unknown: Al-Qaeda Presents Footage of Preparations for Triple Suicide Bombings against Baghdad Hotels, Nov. 26, 00:05:24, MEMRI
"By Allah, I have never been as happy as I a today."
Al-Qaeda 'Martyrdom Seeker' Prepares to Die
