Article Analysis Essay on The Importance of the Clan in Iraq

Introduction

This article written by John Tierney presents the views of various a military leader and a sociologist who have experienced the reality of Iraqi nationalism. Through their voices, the writer shows the importance of clans in the country and the role that the clan system plays in the peace and unity of the country. This paper seeks to discuss the main points discussed in the article as well as their relevance to culture and sociology.

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The United States has been involved in peace efforts in Iraq for several years. However, the efforts have achieved little success. In his observation, Major General J. D. Thurman, the senior commander of US forces in Iraq argues that the US wants unity in the country more than the citizens do. According to him, this is the primary reason why peace efforts have always failed. He argues that to overcome this challenge, the citizens must be made to stop worrying self and start worrying about the country. Unfortunately, the General predicts that the country is not ready to do it regardless of the measures taken by the US (Tierney, n.d).

Using the American template, the Iraqis might come across as selfish. However, this would be wrong since Iraq has a different culture. Moreover, contrary to the general perception, individualism is not the main problem in Iraq. He argues that the cause of the problem is the fact that Iraqis place more importance on social obligations than on national unity. This came to the fore when the Iraqis went to the polls. They voted according to sectarian and religious lines. However, the clan is even more important than religion in the country. For instance, the battle of Amara was between clans rather than religious factions. Often, the military finds itself helpless in the face of the clan dynamics. The author argues that the lack of this understanding is the main reason why America's efforts have failed. For instance, during the invasion of Iraq, American optimists thought that the country would follow a similar democratization path to that followed by countries such as Japan and Germany. However, Iraqi lacks the national unity and cohesion seen in these countries.

Understanding the culture and social structure of Iraq is not only important in sociology but also in foreign policies of countries such as the US that have operations in the country. Sociologists claim that approximately half of Iraqis are married to their cousins. Resultantly, the Iraqi clans are so tightly knit. The citizens, therefore, offer their allegiance to the clans rather than to the state. In the words of Ihsan al-Hassan, a University of Baghdad sociologist, if a member of the clan does something wrong, the other members are expected to favor them.

As a result of such perceptions, getting rid of local militias has been difficult since the clans trust them more than the national army which is made up of officers from different clans. Therefore, rather than seeking to transform the citizens into patriots, the US should focus on decentralization. The national government on its side should channel its efforts to defending its boarders and equitable distribution of resources. The other duties such as maintenance of order and upholding of law should be left to the autonomous local governments. Though such an arrangement would not assure peace in the country, the local leaders would be at a better position to work out the differences between the clans as opposed to the national government.

References

Tierney, J. (n.d.). The Importance of the Clan in Iraq. One Nation, Divisible. New York Times.