Iraq PM urges Fallujah to expel al-Qaeda

Modern day Iraq was carved out of the Ottoman empire following its defeat in World War I.  Two people are responsible for not only creating Iraq, but Syria, Jordan, Lebanon what would become the state of Israel.   Its known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement

Briton Sir Mark Sykes and French Diplomat Francois Georges-Picot were the architects of this secret agreement which divided the lands of the former Ottoman Empire into British and French spheres of influence. Russia gave its assent to the agreements reached but with the successful Russian revolution the new Communist government exposed the deal to the public.

Look at any post World War I map of the Middle East and what stands out?  Straight lines.  Sykes and Picot drew straight lines on a map without giving any thought to the unintended consequences  those lines might create.  They divided whole ethnic and religious groups placing them into countries with other peoples who might not share their same religious and ethnic background.  Iraq is a perfect example.

    
 




English: Major ethno-religious groups in Iraq

   Sunni Arabs

   Shiite Arabs

   Muslim Kurds

   Assyrians

   Yazidi Kurds

   Turkmen

Iraq's creation and ethnic make up are important when considering not only events in the last several days but both Gulf War's.   Remember in the first Gulf War former President George H.W. Bush and his military commanders choose not to pursue Iraqi forces upon their retreat across the boarder.  As they felt the consequences of such actions would cause a wider war within the Middle East and divide Iraq along ethnic and religious lines leading to the countries  ultimate break up.  That didn't stop George W. Bush.  Damn the consequences we must invade.  Look at Iraq today and one can view in all its horror what  that invasion has brought .

Iraq's prime minister has urged residents and tribes in Fallujah to drive out al-Qaeda-linked fighters to avoid an all-out battle in the besieged city, a sign that the government could be paving the way for an imminent military offensive.
In a message broadcast over state television on Monday, Nouri al-Maliki said tribal leaders should help push fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who last week seized key towns in Anbar province, out of Fallujah.
"The prime minister appeals to the tribes and people of Fallujah to expel the terrorists from the city in order to spare themselves the risk of armed clashes," the statement read.
The fighters' seizure of Fallujah and parts of the provincial capital, Ramadi, has marked the most direct challenge to Maliki's government since the departure of American forces two years ago.
The army has surrounded Fallujah, which is just 65km west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. It is located in the vast Sunni-dominated and largely desert province of Anbar, which borders Syria, where ISIL fighters are also battling to topple President Bashar al-Assad