Responsible People Should Question Syrian Refugee Problem - It is about being Muslim

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President Obama, Secretary of State Kerry, and even former Secretary of State Clinton should not be so quick to condemn those who question the wisdom of mass refugee transfers to the United States.

Of course, the liberal media and progressive advocates will condemn anyone who questions them, especially on such a controversial issue.  Such condemnation is then given the right progressive spin, like what kind of threat are Muslim babies, mothers, and old people.

The intent is to entice well meaning but gullible people into condemning Republicans and Republican presidential candidates directly, and seducing Independents and Democrats who might be genuinely concerned about the cause.

The truth, well so far no one is talking about the truth or historical facts and lessons.  To be honest, they cannot afford to discuss it.

You will not find the truth in the Qur'an (the Muslim holy book), you will find it in the historical battle for dominance within the Muslim world between the bitterest of all enemies, the sects within the Muslim faith.  The truth has been unfolding for 1,400 years but our liberal media either does not want you to know the truth, or is oblivious, which is a much greater concern to us.

There are two dominant sects within Islam or the Muslim religion, the Sunni and the Shi'ite.  For purposes of accuracy, there is confusion in how to spell Shi'ite.  Here are the results of eight different sources on the proper spelling.

Is it Shi'i, Shi'a, Shia, Shi'ite or Shiite?

• Real Arabic is Shi'yan e Ali, a group of fellows of Ali formed in life span of Muhammad pbuh.
  
  
• Commonly called Shia in arabic,
  
  
• Shiite's in English
  
  
• Shi'a in Arabic(شیعه)
  
  
• Shiite in English
  
  
• Shia in YA because it is easier to type it

• Shi'a - a sect in Islam

• Commonly it's spelled Shi'i or Shia

• I believe the best way is shia. Its the easiest and it is spelled how it is said mostly it is used as shi'a.

As you can see, not even the specialists agree.

What you do need to know, and what Obama and company do not tell you, is both sects have rather radical factions and as a result, they have been at war with each other for 1,400 years.  The consequence of the war is stunning.

Reliable estimates of the number of Muslims killed since 1948, is a staggering eleven million. In a 2007 research, Gunnar Heinsohn from the University of Bremen and Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, found out that some 11 million Muslims were violently killed since 1948, of which 35,000, (0.3 percent) died during the six years of Arab war against Israel, or one out of every 315 fatalities.

The truth is, fellow Muslims killed more than 90 percent of the Muslims who perished in Muslim countries from 1948 through 2007.

Remember this does not count 2008-2015, a time when ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were underway, when there were many deaths from the Arab Spring and aftermath (between 2010 to 2012), the civil wars still underway since the Arab spring, most notably in Syria, and violence throughout the other Arab countries.

During the Arab Spring, rulers were forced from power in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, while civil wars erupted in Bahrain and Syria.  There were major protests in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Sudan and minor protests in Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Western Sahara, and Palestine.

Tuareg fighters returning from the Libyan Civil War then joined the ongoing conflict in Mali, where just this past week a terrorist assault on a hotel killed 21.  In just the past month, there are over 300 deaths from terrorist attacks.

The death toll since 2007 could easily be more than one million meaning Muslims killed in conflicts in Arab nations since 1948 could easily be approaching twelve million, with about 10,800,000 killed by fellow Muslims.

Historically, if you look at the record for non-Muslims killed by Muslims over the 1,400 year history of Islam the number is nearly 270 million.  Source articles for the numbers mentioned follow in subsequent articles.

In the past two decades there have been two principal terrorist groups within the Islamic radicals, The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS or simply the Islamic State), and their predecessor Al-Qaeda, the extremist Islamic group established in 1989 by Osama Bin Laden and responsible for the World Trade Center destruction.

Muslims pledge loyalty to a Caliphate, a territory dominated by Muslims, in which Sharia Law is implemented, the Islamic code of conduct.  From this point on, the differences between terror groups varies.

Just know that both represent the Sunni sect.  From a terrorist point of view, the re-establishment of the Islam Caliphate is necessary and obliterating all other Muslim and non-Muslim people within the Caliphate is required.

With no national loyalty, the radical Muslim fighters are loyal only to the Caliphate and therein lies the core conclusion that accommodation is impossible, they are sworn to kill us as the Demonic force behind the Jewish state and behind the persecution of Islamic followers throughout the world.

What does this have to do with Syrian refugees to America?

It should be nothing but that is not the case.  Syrian refugees want to remain in their homeland which is part of the disputed territory of the Caliphate.  Right now they face death if they stay home.

However, there are two issues with the refugees.  First are they loyal to the core beliefs of the terrorists and most are not.  Second, will they assimilate into the American culture if they come here or do they expect to bring their Islamic culture to America as they did in Europe and other areas.

America is unique in terms of the assimilation of foreign national refugees into our nation.  We are a nation of immigrants, thus we have created a culture that welcomes people of all cultures as long as they become loyal Americans.  Here that also guarantees them the right to have their own religion and cultural ways, but they must respect our basic belief that ALL people are equal and guaranteed equal opportunity.

Where substantial concentrations of Muslim people have gathered over the years, not only do they have to assimilate into the American culture, they also have to deal with Islamic terrorists, and they must overcome the 1,400 year history of the Sunni and Shi'ite struggle for dominance.

That is the perplexing situation facing potential refugees to the USA that the Obama Administration must incorporate into the vetting process.  It must determine if the process is sufficient to protect the citizens of the United States who are more than willing to embrace immigrants.

These are the issues not discussed by the president or the media but only by Paul Ryan, new Speaker of the House, and concerned members of the House and Senate.  Slow down Obama or you will get it all wrong again.

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Obamaville - November 16 - Wake up Obama, Politicians and News Media, Hear the Dire Warnings from Pope Francis and France - terrorists claiming a religious foundation can and must be stopped!

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Call it inexperience, a lack of historical footing, or a Pollyanna presidency, this is not the first movement by religious zealots to try and conquer the world - and history has shown they can be stopped!

Yesterday Pope Francis condemned the terror attacks on Paris and warned the seeds of World War III have been planted.  Today President Obama ignored his warning and said his strategy of remote bombing was working, a claim immediately trashed by experts from the military, and from foreign governments around the world.

Obama, his surrogate Hillary Clinton, and the media all ignored the warning of the Pope.  Even worse, they continue to support a policy that has failed to stop ISIS and their terrorist rampage around the globe.

Contrary to popular opinion expressed by our president and his liberal legions and reinforced by the news media, this is not the first time this has happened and if we pay attention to history, we will know our response is dead wrong.  In the past millions of people have died because the dangers were ignored.

On multiple occasions, two quite different groups have attempted to use religion to justify genocide and the destruction of freedom and equality on a worldwide scale.

Ironically, both began within 139 years of each other nearly 1,400 years ago in the same region of the world.

Islamic Caliphate

 

In 1632 AD the great Prophet Mohammed died after establishing Islam, and two sects within his following claimed the right to succession through the establishment of Caliphates, the Sunni Muslims representing 84-90% of all Muslims today, and the Shi`ite Muslims representing 10-16% of all Muslims today.

 

Some scholars claim the caliphate effectively ended in 1258 when the Mongols, the descendants of Genghis Khan, stormed across the Middle East.  But, the Turkish Ottoman empire claimed the caliphate in 1453 and exercised authority over vast parts of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond until the empire withered and ultimately collapsed at the end of World War I.

"The position has been vacant since 1924, when the founder of modern Turkey abolished the office as a remnant of the Ottoman Empire, and bundled the last man to hold it, a bookish Francophile named Abdulmecid Efendi, into exile aboard the Orient Express."

The Holy Roman Empire

In the year 800 AD the Holy Roman Empire was established when Charlemagne, a successful Germanic leader, was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo II in order to protect the church from competition by others in Europe.  It was a motley medley of more or less independent kingdoms, lay and ecclesiastical principalities and free cities.

The Holy Roman Empire is also called the First Reich, was always Roman Catholic, and its history was punctuated by often bitter disputes between the Emperor and the Pope, sometimes involving clashing armies.  It remained under the control of Germanic leaders for over 1,000 years, until Napoleon and France brought it to an end in 1806.

The Second Reich, or German Empire, was not officially Catholic, was more clearly German, and lasted just a few decades, from 1871 to 1918. There was no claim of global domination, although the Germans had defeated France in 1870 and did build up a set of colonies, though dwarfed by the British Empire.

Thus efforts to control the world by the Caliphates and the Holy Roman Empire for over 1,000 years by combining church and state both came to an end within six years of each other, just as World War I ended in 1918.

Rise of the Third Reich

We all know the story of the unfair Treaty of Versailles to end World War I that virtually destroyed any hope for Germany which faced dire consequences.  For the next decade German nationalism was fueled by the punishing treaty and resulted in yet another effort to establish The Holy Roman Empire, better known as The Third Reich.

In the early 1930s, the mood in Germany was grim. The worldwide economic depression had hit the country especially hard, and millions of people were out of work. Still fresh in the minds of many was Germany's humiliating defeat fifteen years earlier during World War I, and Germans lacked confidence in their weak government, known as the Weimar Republic.

These conditions provided the chance for the rise of a new leader, Adolf Hitler, and his party, the National Socialist German Workers' Party, or Nazi party for short.  Hitler was a powerful and spellbinding speaker who attracted a wide following of Germans desperate for change. He promised the disenchanted a better life and a new and glorious Germany. The Nazis appealed especially to the unemployed, young people, and members of the lower middle class (small store owners, office employees, craftsmen, and farmers).

The party's rise to power was rapid. Before the economic depression struck, the Nazis were practically unknown, winning only 3 percent of the vote to the Reichstag (German parliament) in elections in 1924. In the 1932 elections, the Nazis won 33 percent of the votes, more than any other party. In January 1933 Hitler was appointed chancellor, the head of the German government, and many Germans believed that they had found a savior for their nation.

Key Dates

JUNE 28, 1919
TREATY OF VERSAILLES ENDS WORLD WAR I

In the Treaty of Versailles, which followed German defeat in World War I, the victorious powers (the United States, Great Britain, France, and other allied states) impose severe terms on Germany. Germany, under threat of invasion, is forced to sign the treaty. Among other provisions, Germany accepts responsibility for the war and agrees to make huge payments (known as reparations), limit its military to 100,000 troops, and transfer territory to its neighbors. The terms of the treaty lead to widespread political discontent in Germany. Adolf Hitler gains support by promising to overturn them.

OCTOBER 24, 1929
STOCK MARKET CRASH IN NEW YORK

The plummet in the value of stocks that is associated with the New York stock market crash brings a rash of business bankruptcies. Widespread unemployment occurs in the United States. The "Great Depression," as it is called, sparks a worldwide economic crisis. In Germany, six million are unemployed by June 1932. Economic distress contributes to a meteoric rise in the support for the Nazi party. As a result, the Nazi party wins the votes of almost 40 of the electorate in the Reichstag (German parliament) elections of July 1932. The Nazi party becomes at this point the largest party in the German parliament.

NOVEMBER 6, 1932
NAZIS LOSE SUPPORT IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

In the Reichstag (German parliament) elections of November 1932, the Nazis lose almost two million votes from the previous elections of July. They win only 33 percent of the vote. It seems clear that the Nazis will not gain a majority in democratic elections, and Adolf Hitler agrees to a coalition with conservatives. After months of negotiations, the president of Germany, Paul von Hindenburg, will appoint Hitler chancellor of Germany in a government seemingly dominated by conservatives on January 30, 1933.

As Hitler began his reign of terror under the guise of rebuilding The Holy Roman Empire the next few years, from 1933 until the beginning of 1939, would be the last chance for the world to stop him until World War II ended with his death and the collapse of Japan.

Lessons we failed to learn today

The failure to stop Hitler would result in over 60 million deaths from the war.

Movements like the early Caliphates and the Third Reich were efforts to ignore geopolitical boundaries.

Religions were compromised in order to justify empires that ignored sovereign claims and geographic boundaries.

Substantial lists of enemies of the state or empire identified target population segments for liquidation.

The ISIS Caliphate of today

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has now officially become a global Islamic caliphate. It took 14 months for its leader, who is known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to set himself up as a ruler “by order of God.” He is not only the “commander of the faithful” now, but also the caliph-at-large, and the “successor” of Prophet Mohammad. The historical declaration took place on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan of the year 1435 AH (2014 AD).

Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, spokesperson for ISIS, declared the creation of the Islamic caliphate, “the jihadis’ long-running dream.” This marks the first time the caliphate has been “restored” by anyone since Ataturk abolished it almost 90 years ago.

According to Salafi clerics, the caliph is required to rule a territory in every sense of the word, and not in a provisional manner. They argue that ISIS staked its claim to the caliphate on the basis that it controls vast swaths of territory, in addition to having funds, an army, and a population under its control, though ISIS did not take into account the fact that each era should have a different concept for what a state should be. Adnani had specified the role of the state as being to release prisoners, appoint governors and judges, collect taxes, and disseminate religious education, among other functions.

Stopping the Rise of the Caliphate

Throughout history, there were several attempts to build Caliphates and the Holy Roman Empire.  In each case, force destroyed the movements although the delay in taking swift and decisive action came too late to save millions of people.

Have we learned anything in history?  These movements are dedicated to killing their enemy, taking no prisoners, and wiping out the conquered culture.  So far, they are well on their way.

Contrary to Obama and his foolish attitude of "containing" ISIS, and the failure to build the worldwide network of nations needed to stop the proliferation of terrorism, there is no end in sight.

Pope Francis warned Obama and the world we are on the verge of World War III and this time the enemy will be terrorism, the almost invisible cancer spreading throughout the western world.

Unlike previous enemies of the USA, ISIS has a reach far beyond the borders where they live and they have demonstrated to Paris, Beirut, and others the power they have to strike fear into the hearts of the world.

Do we have the power to act to protect the world?

If Obama, Clinton, and the media continue to disregard the extent of the threat to our existence and believe we are really on the right track, we will see the face of ISIS in our face and watch as they terrorize us within our borders.

We must demand action before we allow another rise to power of the Dark Side, and millions of people suffer the terrible consequences of our political paralysis.  Our military are disgusted at not being able to fight to defend us and rid the world of terrorism.

It is up to our leaders to unleash the incredible power, fury, and righteous rage of the American people so that Syrian refugees can go home and the people of the world can find peace and freedom.

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Why is the Middle East in Flames? What is behind the hatred between Islam sects the Sunni and Shi'a?

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According to The New American Encyclopedic Dictionary, "An Exhaustive Dictionary of The English Language Practical and Comprehensive published by J. A. Hill & Company of New York in 1906, "bias" of things not material is defined as: "The state of mentally or morally inclining to one side; inclination of the mind, heart or will; that which causes such an inclination, leaning or tendency."

In Crabb: English Synonyms, Crabb thus distinguishes between bias, prepossession, and prejudice: "Bias marks the state of the mind; prepossession applies either to the general or particular state of the feelings, prejudice is employed only for opinions. Children may receive an early bias that influences their future character and destiny. Prepossessions spring from casualties; they do not exist in young minds. Prejudices are the fruits of a contracted education. A bias may be overpowered, a prepossession overcome, and a prejudice corrected or removed. We may be biased for or against; we are always prepossessed in favor, and mostly prejudiced against.

Is there is a bias in America based on suspicion of the intent of the Muslim people's of the world and is it based on the history and modern actions of the Muslim world, in particular the actions of the mainstream Muslim factions. The majority of Muslims belong to one of two denominations, the Sunni and the Shi'a.

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, in Muslim tradition, Muhammad is viewed as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets—as the man closest to perfection, the possessor of all virtues. For the last 22 years of his life, in 610 AD, beginning at age 40, Muhammad started receiving revelations from God. The content of these revelations, known as the Qur'an, was memorized and recorded by his companions. It has been 1400 years since Muhammad started receiving revelations from God.

Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam, comprising up to 90% or nine-tenths of the total Muslim population in the world. They are often referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h or Ahl as-Sunnah.

The word Sunni comes from the word sunnah, which means the teachings and actions or examples of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Therefore, the term "Sunni" refers to those who follow or maintain the sunnah of the prophet Muhammad.

The Sunni believe that Muhammad did not specifically appoint a successor to lead the Muslim ummah (community) before his death, and after an initial period of confusion, a group of his most prominent companions gathered and elected Abu Bakr Siddique—Muhammad's close friend and a father-in-law—as the first caliph of Islam. Sunni Muslims regard the first four caliphs—Abu Bakr, `Umar ibn al-Khattāb, Uthman Ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abu Talib—as "al-Khulafā’ur-Rāshidūn" or "The Rightly Guided Caliphs." Sunnis also believe that the position of caliph may be democratically chosen, but after the Rashidun, the position turned into a hereditary dynastic rule. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, there has never been another caliph as widely recognized in the Muslim world.

Shia Islam (sometimes Shi'a or Shi'ite), is the second-largest denomination of Islam, comprising anywhere between 10% or one-tenth to 13% of the total Muslim population in the world. Shi'a Muslims—though a minority in the Muslim world—constitute the majority of the populations in Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iran, and Iraq, as well as a plurality in Lebanon and Yemen.

In addition to believing in the authority of the Qur'an and teachings of the Muhammad, Shi'a believe that his family—the Ahl al-Bayt (the People of the House), including his descendants known as Imams—have special spiritual and political rule over the community and believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and was the rightful successor to Muhammad, and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three Rashidun caliphs.

The Shi'a Islamic faith is vast and inclusive of many different groups. There are various Shi'a theological beliefs, schools of jurisprudence, philosophical beliefs, and spiritual movements. The Shi'a identity emerged soon after the death of 'Umar Ibnil-Khattab—the second caliph—and Shi'a theology was formulated in the second century and the first Shi'a governments and societies were established by the end of the ninth century.

Kharijite (lit. "those who seceded") is a general term embracing a variety of Muslim sects which, while originally supporting the Caliphate of Ali, eventually seceded after his son Imam Hasan negotiated with Mu'awiya during the 7th Century Islamic civil war (First Fitna). Their complaint was that the Imam must be spiritually pure, and that Hasan's compromise with Mu'awiya was a compromise of his spiritual purity, and therefore of his legitimacy as Imam or Caliph. While there are few remaining Kharijite or Kharijite-related groups, the term is sometimes used to denote Muslims who refuse to compromise with those with whom they disagree.

Sufism is a mystical-ascetic form of Islam. By focusing on the more spiritual aspects of religion, Sufis strive to obtain direct experience of God by making use of "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use. Sufis usually considered Sufism to be complementary to orthodox Islam.

Once Muhammad lived and provided the Qur'an by 632 AD the various factions fought a 7th century civil war before undertaking 500 years of war against the Christians for control of the Western World. The initial Muslim conquest of Syria in the 7th century under the Rashidun Caliphs began the battle between the Christians and Muslims. After the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Christians and Muslims the wars ended with Muslims in control of most Middle East nations and Christianity split between the Latin and Greek sects.

By the time Christianity reached about 1400 years of age the factions within Christianity forced the Protestant Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries and the break up of Christianity into many independent denominations.

Ironically, the Muslim factions have now existed for 1400 years and in country after country they have turned on each other in brutal wars, suppression of competing sects, and acts of genocide that have left a sense of fear, distrust and anxiety in the Christian and Jewish worlds. Is it not surprising? If the Muslim sects can justify Holy Wars against each other in this modern age what is to stop wars with us? Just look at the tens of thousands of civilian Muslim deaths at the hands of radical Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is in the news every day.

History is a brutal lesson in fact over fiction. The origins of terrorism within the Muslim factions is no surprise as radical extremists with a religious foundation have been around for centuries. There is no single voice for the Muslim world and no central control of order to that world. Until those elements of the Muslim world can overcome their own hatred for each other and then their hatred for the Christian and Jewish so called infidels, bias will exist and caution is warranted.

Just as the Christians had to overcome the violence and bloodshed of the ill advised Crusades and the Protestant Reformation in order for Christianity to evolve, so to must the Muslim world overcome the bitter wars and rivalry of secular and non-secular violence and the offshoots of terrorism that attempt to destroy any perceived effort to threaten the single domination of one religious sect over any government in a multi-cultural and religiously diverse world.

Any bias of unease or misunderstanding on the part of Americans toward the Muslim world can be changed, if the Muslim world evolves as other religions have evolved. When radicalism and terrorism are set aside, and they exist in all cultures and religions, there are far more similarities between Christians and Muslims than differences and both share the same God or Allah.  Finally, within every culture or religion are good people.

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How to lose a war - Iraq again in flames 11 years after US Invasion

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This is not Obama's year for foreign policy successes nor is it the legacy former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wanted as the top Obama official when policy decisions were made to leave Iraq and Afghanistan.

Yet today, with lightning speed, the Sunni Al-Qaeda's uprising as it sweeps across Iraq and recaptures the very areas lost in the war presents the dark dilemma that everything America did from spending $2 trillion over 11 years and having almost 4,400 Americans die in Iraq and over 32,000 wounded, was for naught.

Two and one half years after American troops left, the current prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, a member of the Shia Muslim faction, wants the Americans to come back as his country crumbles around him.

The war has killed at least 134,000 Iraqi civilians and may have contributed to the deaths of as many as four times that number, according to the Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University.

When security forces, insurgents, journalists and humanitarian workers were included, the war's death toll rose to an estimated 176,000 to 189,000, the study said.

The report, the work of about 30 academics and experts, was published in advance of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003.

What can we expect if Iraq falls to the Sunni Al-Qaeda uprising?  Mass murders, even genocide as the Sunni take revenge from the Shia.  A return to strict human rights violations as women will be stripped of all rights and children will be raised to be terrorists if the past is any indication.

The radical Sunni and Al-Qaeda coalition will be forming the largest geographic Sunni controlled area in the Mideast to include Syria, Iran and Iraq, and will be a direct threat to destroy the remaining American allies in the Middle East.  The Sunni can also be expected to wage war on the Christians remaining in the region and to threaten to obliterate Israel.

Newspaper headlines from around the world say it all.

U.S. aid 'spawning new breed of jihadists'

Fighting in North Iraq to Delay Return of Region Oil Exports

Timeline - How al-Qaeda regained its hold in Iraq

A spent force five years ago, the Sunni militant group is now stronger than ever

After Mosul - If jihadists control Iraq, blame Nouri al-Maliki, not the United States.

Iraq on the brink of civil war

Iraq: Al-Qaida-inspired militants capture Tikrit; 500,000 flee Mosul

Al-Qaeda's uprising in northern Iraq comes five years after had been all but defeated as a result of the US troop "surge". Former Telegraph Iraq correspondent charts the key points in its rebirth

By Colin Freeman

2007-2008

After two years of Sunni-Shia civil war, US troops mount a "surge" designed to quell the violence. Among its strategies is turning Iraq's Sunni community against their former allies in al-Qaeda, with whom they had united to fight the US occupation and the US-backed, Shia-dominated Iraqi government. The strategy succeeds and al-Qaeda finds itself largely defeated in Iraq.

2010

New elections in Iraq sow the seeds of future disconent. Iraqiyya, a secular and religiously mixed bloc led by Ayad Allawi, a former British exile, win a narrow majority votes, but the Shia bloc run by current prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, wins power after forming a governing coalitiion with Iranian help. Rather than handing key security positions to his opponents as promised, Mr Maliki concentrates power in his own hands, alienating the Sunni community.

December 2011

Mr Maliki issues an arrest warrant for Tariq al-Hashemi, Iraq's Sunni vice-president, who flees abroad. The government claims Mr Hashemi has been using his bodyguards for terrorism campaigns, but Iraq's Sunnis see it as a sectarian smear campaign against his political rivals. Mr Maliki is also accused of replacing competent military leaders who had worked with the Americans with political cronies, undermining the military's strength at the very time when the US is pulling out its forces.

Autumn 2012

Belatedly inspired by the Arab Spring movements in neighbouring countries, Sunnis around Iraq begin a series of mass civil rights demonstrations, alleging that they are treated as second-class citizens by Mr Maliki's government. While their complaints get limited sympathy in the wider world - Sunnis, after all, enjoyed privileged lives during the reign of Saddam Hussein - Western diplomats in Baghdad concede that they have some grounds for complaint. In particular, the protesters allege harassment by the security forces and discrimination in getting government jobs.

December 2012

The arrest of Rafaie al-Esawi, a finance minister who is one of the last prominent Sunnis in government, galvanises the protests further. The growing sense of alienation with the government provides a ready source of new recruits to al-Qaeda, which has re-energised in western Iraq thanks to its campaign against President Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria. While many Sunnis do not share al-Qaeda's extreme religious vision, they are willing to help it fight Mr Maliki's government.

April 2013

Iraqi government forces antagonise the Sunni community further when they attack a protest camp in the town of Hawijah in northern Iraq, killing 53 people. While the Iraqi government claims that the camp had become a haven for al-Qaeda militants, who had fired on them first, the raid on the camp prompts fighting that spills across northern Iraq. Gunmen briefly sieze one town from police and declare it to be "liberated" from government rule.

July 2013

The new joint Syrian-Iraqi al-Qaeda offshoot, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al Shams (ISIS), gains a major coup when it breaks nearly 500 fellow militants from Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad, supposedly the most secure jail in the country. Many rejoin their comrades' campaign.

December 2013

Human Rights Watch issues a report criticising the Iraqi government over the scale of its use of the death penalty, often in cases where confessions have been extracted by torture. A disproportionate number of those on death row appear to be Sunni insurgents.

January 2014

ISIS sends gunmen into the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The Iraqi army surrounds both cities but does not go for an all-out assault for fear of large civilian casaulties that would alienate locals still further. Five months later, both cities remain outside of Iraqi security forces' control.

June 2014

ISIS takes over the cities of Mosul and Tikrit, also threatening Baghdad. Five years from being all but vanquished, al-Qaeda's writ in Iraq is as strong, if not stronger, as it was before.

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