THE NEW MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN

The BBC just did a story on the disappearances, torture, murder and intimidation that occur daily in Iraq. They say an average of 60 tortured and murtilated bodies are found each day in and around Baghdad; the Shiites are doing it to the Sunnis who live in mixed areas, and the Sunnis are doing it to the Shiites who live in mixed areas. Those who don't leave receive notes telling them to move out or they will be tortured and killed, too. Since February some 300,000 people have been displaced as they flee to areas where others of their ilk are in the majority. The news people keep invoking "sectarian" violence. The Sunday New York Times carried a long cover story about teens whose lives have been derailed by the violence; they can't go to school or leave the country and stay home barricaded inside all day. Former friends of different sects no longer trust each other. Everyone knows someone who's been killed. But no one can get a visa to get out

One can't help but think of India after Partition, when the British handed over power in 1947 without having much of a security plan once the two new states of primarily Hindu India and primarily Muslim Pakistan were created at Midnight. A estimated one million people were killed as Hindus and Sikhs headed towards India and Muslims fled north to Pakistan. It was a massive disaster and the repercussions continue today when "communual" violence flares up.

It's Post-Colonialism 101: When the colonial powers leave, the groups that lived side-by-side and had a common enemy in their overlords go at each others throats in a bid for power.

Of course you can substitute "dictator" or "puppet" or "despot" for "colonial powers" and the same thing happens.

You'd think the geniuses who decided to invade Iraq -- and who went to far better schools than I did -- would have studied these things and taken them into account when they removed ol' Saddam and tried to install "democracy."

Because the next move, of course, is for the winner to take over the nation's natural resources.

Which in thise case would be the oil reserves.

Oops.