DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - WASHINGTON D.C.: IF JIHADISTS WIN IN IRAQ, INSTABILITY WILL BE DE RIGEUR

Kissinger: A victory for Islamic fundamentalism in Iraq imperils stability in other nations with Muslim populations

WASHINGTON: A period of extreme turbulence will follow if the Iraq war ends in an Islamic fundamentalism that can claim to have ejected Russia from Afghanistan and the United States from Iraq, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger warned in comments published Thursday.

Kissinger said the unrest would not be confined to the Middle East but could extend to nations outside the region with large Muslim populations such as Indonesia, India, Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan.

Writing in The Washington Post, Kissinger said the two international conferences dealing with Iraq's future and involving all of Iraq's neighbors including Iran and Syria, which were announced by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, mark an important step in dealing with an incongruity of international politics.

He said the United States has been widely condemned for its handling of the Iraq war while no country has been prepared to seriously explore the political implications of what happens next.

"If American fails to achieve its immediate objectives _if terrorist camps or terrorist regimes emerge on Iraqi soil, backed by its huge oil resources — no country with a significant Muslim population will be able to escape the consequences," Kissinger said.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Kissinger: A victory for Islamic fundamentalism in Iraq imperils stability in other nations with Muslim populations