Predictably, insurgency in Iraq has intensified as the March elections near; its scale and frequency was not predicted. Alastair Campbell beamed as a benevolent Uncle when talking about Iraq on Tuesday but Coalition diplomats fear for the democracy’s future. British ambassador to Baghdad, John Jenkins, told the Chilcot inquiry:
“Iraq faces a real possibility of a military coup…Although I think where we are at the moment is much better than where we thought it was going be back in 2004-05 you only need look at the history of Iraq to understand that a realistic threat still exists.”
Ayad Jamal Aldin, a Shia cleric who leads the anti-corruption, anti-Iranian and pro-secular Ahrar party, is more stoical:
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