In a newly released report, the London-based think tank Chatham House warns of the possibility of widespread catastrophe and chaos in Iraq, claiming that the Iraqi government is practically impotent and obsolete and calling for serious policy revisions on the part of the U.S. and Great Britain.


BBC:

The Chatham House report, written by Gareth Stansfield, a Middle East expert, is unremittingly bleak, says BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins.

Mr Stansfield argues that the break-up of Iraq is becoming increasingly likely.

In large parts of the country, the Iraqi government is powerless, he says, as rival factions struggle for local supremacy.

The briefing paper, entitled “Accepting Realities in Iraq,” says: “There is not ‘a’ civil war in Iraq, but many civil wars and insurgencies involving a number of communities and organisations struggling for power.”

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