Sunnis Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The religious and ethnic dynamics within Iraq are putting the Sunnis in a really tough spot right now. After years of enjoying the benefits of being the ruling minority, the Sunnis may have sipped some hemlock when they signed up with al-Qaeda in the attempt to fight and expel the American-led invasion.

After spending the last few years playing an integral part in financially and physically supporting these terrorists who have spent most of their energy bombing mosques and children, it seems like the Sunnis are the ones fearing reprisals:

Sunni Muslim civilians are increasingly claiming that men in their families have been abducted and in many cases, tortured and killed, by men they say appeared to be officers of the Shiite-led Iraqi government.

According to the New York Times, one of Baghdad's largest mosques has begun collecting data on disappeared Sunnis and so far has the names of 700 men allegedly missing or killed in such incidents within the past four months. The Iraqi Interior Ministry says reports of government involvement are "totally wrong."

For those that have been intimately following events in Iraq, this is not much of a surprise. There have been acts of retribution doled out by rival tribes since the days of Babylon. Observers, especially in the West, have feared the onset of a civil war, but it is already here. Actually, it has been going on since Saddam ruled, but now instead of the Sunnis having the upper hand, they are finding themselves at the bottom of the pile.

However, their is another civil war that is just getting under way. This one is occuring within the Sunni ranks revolving around the decision to either join the new government, or remain on the business end of the ever strengthening, American-backed, Iraqi Security Forces. Unfortunately, death also awaits those pragmatic Sunnis that understand their only hope for survival in Iraq lies with joining the government. Al-Qaeda understands that their ability to operate in Iraq is entirely reliant upon a cooperative Sunni population, so while the western news covers al-Qaeda's macabre behavior in bombing Shiites, Kurds and Americans, they have quietly been brutalizing, murdering and terrorizing those Sunnis who have dared turn their backs on them in hopes of joining the government.

The Sunnis are stuck having to decided between two bad choices: death or death. If they choose to stand and fight, they'll reap death and possible annahilation from the Iraqi-Security forces, the Americans, and even worse, Shiites seeking tribal justice. If they decide to join the government, those who stand-up against al-Qaeda will be faced with brutal death, while those Sunnis who have blood on their hands will continue to be dealt with by Shiites tribes seeking revenge.

The Sunnis need to cut their losses and, for them, choose the least bad choice: joining the government. The near future for the Sunnis is going to be bloody and horrible, but at least joining the political process can result in some hope for the future. Both choices will be met with death, but the latter option is extinction.