India, Dec. 15 -- Iraq has once again descended into an abyss. Since the downfall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the country has not witnessed peace for almost two decades now. Modern Iraq was established in 1932 from the amalgamation of three provinces of Baghdad, Basra and Mosul that formed Mesopotamia. This new country was primarily centred around tribes purely external to the main city centres. Thus from the very beginning, Mesopotamia was vulnerable to both security and unity.

The Ottomans overestimated their ability to control Iraq and did not emphasise on domestic development and the existing tribal structures. Like many other ancient empires, the Ottomans were forging ahead with the concept of "the strong do what they want, they have...