With so much ongoing damage occurring in Iraq, one may not help but wonder where and how it all began. In the past few decades, Iraq has witnessed many changes and has faced several obstacles, leading to a decline into its current state. These changes can go back to the 1990s when the United Nations first placed economic sanctions on Iraq for the invasion of Kuwait, to the U.S. invasion of Iraq and then the fall of the Ba’th regime under the dictator, Saddam Hussein, in 2003. In the last few years, the state has seen even more instability. Iraqis in the capital city, Baghdad, complain that they still live in a state of crisis because of sectarian violence, corrupt government, and damaged infrastructure. Although to some the U.N. sanctions were a success in accomplishing the set agenda for Iraq, to others the sanctions were one step in the direction of the decline and instability that the country would later come to see from 2003 to today.

Iraqi development was limited and distorted from 1990-2003 due to Saddam’s efforts to reinforce his own power. Hussein’s actions of invading Kuwait led to the imposition of the sanctions, which ultimately placed a strain on the country. One of the main goals of the sanctions was to diminish the power of Saddam Hussein. Yet, they did not overthrow Hussein but rather strengthened his regime. At the end of the sanctions, the United States invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003 with the thought that U.S. combat units were to withdraw after 90 days from his fall, yet, the training and rise to power of inexperienced and deeply divided Shi’a leaders helped keep Iraq from developing any form of stability.

The main effect on Iraq that came as a result of these issues is the ongoing sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims. While Iraq is a Shi’a Muslim majority country, Saddam Hussein rose to power in Iraq as a Sunni leader in 1979 and employed his authority, until its end in 2003. Hussein managed to suppress and control the Shi'a living in Iraq, targeting and killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shi'a. He destroyed shrines, shops and holy centers in Karbala, a Shi'a holy city in Iraq, while also prohibiting the visitation of all holy shrines among other Shi’a ritualistic practices.

The remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’thist regime, along with radical militant groups, used Sunni rhetoric in order to build up a resistance to the rise of Shi’a power in Iraq. This then triggered a bloody civil war between Shi’a and Sunnis that lasted from 2004 to 2010, with the deaths of 103,619 civilians. The bombing of the Shi’a holy shrine in Samara in 2006 was an important point in the conflict, leading to Iraqis choosing a side in the war and creating tensions between the two groups that continues until today. Sunni insurgency militias arose, such as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (later on becoming Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), believing to act as a resistance to Shi’a power and a “defender” of the Sunni community. Al-Qaeda members targeted suicide bombings at Shi’a holy shrines and Shi’a-populated cities as part of their ideology to provoke Sunni hatred in the hearts of Iraqi Shi’a, thus motivating a counterattack on Sunni communities and areas by Shi’a militias.

Sectarianism has played a role in the decline of Iraq, created war and turmoil, and has stolen the innocent lives of Iraqis since 2003. Still, Iraq finds itself in an unfortunate state where not only is death constantly lingering in the streets, but it is also a normalized concept among Iraqi civilians. Caution is taken when visiting family, going to shopping centers or markets, or visiting the holy shrines for fear of bombings striking the civilians. Struggling to live normal lives, Iraqis have hope that their beloved country will withstand anything put in its way, as long as it has those defending in its favor.