Regional players are trying to help in Iraq

The possibility of a fallout if Iraq disintegrates have made neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia to call for a peace conference under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Mecca on Oct. 19th. The four Shiite and Sunni clerics who signed the 10 point Mecca Charter called for a halt to the sectarian violence, defending the unity of Iraq etc.

This apparently was supported by the powers that be among the Islamic leadership in Iraq including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Moqtada al -Sadr.

Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the Dubai based Gulf Research Center said in The Daily Star that there are three main players responsible for the ongoing violence in Iraq, armed militias, the U.S. Military and the Iraqi army, and the criminal and terrorist groups. His analysis is that without decommissioning these militias and disarming or ridding the criminal class the problem of stopping the sectarian violence will remain elusive.