Outrage over the construction of a wall around a Sunni Arab neighborhood in Baghdad has revealed the depths of Iraqi frustration with the petty humiliations created by the occupation forces’ new security plan, ostensibly intended to protect them. American and some Iraqi officials were clearly taken aback by the ferocity of the opposition to the wall, and on Monday the US was showing signs of backing away from the plan.

At a rally on Monday, residents of the Sunni Arab neighborhood of Adhamiya pledged support for PM Nouri Al-Maliki because of his declaration on Sunday in Cairo that construction of the wall around their neighborhood must stop. Their endorsement was revealing because many Sunnis see Maliki as the representative of a government bent on annihilation of Sunnis. But Shia groups fear that though Sunni Arab neighborhoods are the ones being cordoned off this week, next month it could be Shiite areas as well.

Main Source: New York Times