Briefing: What's behind Iraq violence?

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Christian Science Monitor:

The last U.S. combat troops left Iraq in 2011, "having succeeded in the mission of giving to the Iraqis ... a chance for a successful future," said President Obama at the time. In the past month, that future has dimmed, with the Sunni Arab insurgency flaring anew, particularly in Anbar Province. What happrence? Take our quiz.

 

No. The very day the last US troops left Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, from the Shiite-Islamist Dawa Party, turned the screws on senior Sunni Arab politicians in parliament, signaling his intention to crush his political enemies. Mr. Maliki called for a vote of no confidence against Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq and issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, the country's most senior elected Sunni Arab officials.

 

In the years since, Maliki's government has worked steadily to undo whatever progress toward political reconciliation had been made prior to the US exit. While Iraq is much less violent than it had been, thousands of civilians are still being killed in political violence each year. In 2012 civilian deaths jumped 17 percent. Last year such deaths more than doubled, to more than 8,000.