f the m 3 e trumpeter - the wilds estate · e trumpeter rhino!rhinoceros conservation status!...

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1 August 2014 Issue 9 FROM THE MANAERS OFFICE ................. 3 WHAT HAPPENED ON THE ESTATE ... 11 Prayer walkers 13 e Trumpeter Rhino !Rhinoceros Conservation Status ! Critically Endangered According to the AWF, the black rhino population is down 97.6% since 1960. I don’t know about you, but I feel de- spondent every time I read about the des- perate plight of the aggressively poached rhinos in South Africa. I feel dismayed, frightened and utterly appalled. I also feel enraged because there doesn’t seem to be anything I can actually DO about it, other than give money to one organisation or another. And I get countless desperate rhino emails, smses and FB pleas to share this, like this or send this. But does it help? And how is it helping? What can I actually do to change the situation? Somehow sharing a gut wrenching picture of butchered rhinos with all of my friends feels like a distasteful parody of hand-wringing, and may well leave my ‘friends’ feeling ineffective. It has reached the stage when I delete anything about rhinos rather than face the guilt when I fail to respond to the pleas for yet more money (can donor money bal- ance the finance that drives the slaughter, and which organisation would it best serve?). But I stumbled on a couple of rhino web- sites recently that helpfully list ways in which we can individually make a differ- ence. This is empowering. I feel moved to act, and so I share them with you. Continue on pg. 9. Who is doing the fighting? Why isn't the Iraqi govern- ment taking charge of their own security? Pg 15 Health & beautY……………..7

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Page 1: F THE M 3 e Trumpeter - The Wilds Estate · e Trumpeter Rhino!Rhinoceros Conservation Status! Critically Endangered According to the AWF, the black rhino population is down 97.6%

1

August 2014 Issue 9

FROM THE MANAERS OFFICE ................. 3

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE ESTATE ... 11

Prayer walkers …13

e Trumpeter

Rhino !Rhinoceros Conservation Status! Critically Endangered

According to the AWF, the black

rhino population is down 97.6%

since 1960.

I don’t know about you, but I feel de-

spondent every time I read about the des-

perate plight of the aggressively poached

rhinos in South Africa. I feel dismayed,

frightened and utterly appalled. I also feel

enraged because there doesn’t seem to be

anything I can actually DO about it, other

than give money to one organisation or

another.

And I get countless desperate rhino emails,

smses and FB pleas to share this, like this

or send this. But does it help? And how is

it helping? What can I actually do to

change the situation? Somehow sharing a

gut wrenching picture of butchered rhinos

with all of my friends feels like a distasteful

parody of hand-wringing, and may well

leave my ‘friends’ feeling ineffective.

It has reached the stage when I delete

anything about rhinos rather than face the

guilt when I fail to respond to the pleas for

yet more money (can donor money bal-

ance the finance that drives the slaughter,

and which organisation would it best

serve?).

But I stumbled on a couple of rhino web-

sites recently that helpfully list ways in

which we can individually make a differ-

ence. This is empowering. I feel moved to

act, and so I share them with you.

Continue on pg. 9.

Who is doing the fighting?

Why isn't the Iraqi govern-

ment taking charge of their

own security? Pg 15

Health & beautY……………..7

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From the Managers office Editor’s Letter

The Power paradox. True power

requires modesty and empathy,

not force and coercion, ar-

gues Dacher Keltner.

But what people want from lead-

ers are social intelligence.

“It is much safer to be feared

than loved,” or is it? As seduc-

tive as these notions are, they are

dead wrong. Instead, a new sci-

ence of power has revealed that

power is wielded most effective-

ly when it’s used responsibly by

people who are attuned to, and

engaged with the needs and in-

terests of others. Years of re-

search suggests that empathy and

social intelligence are vastly

more important to acquiring and

exercising power than are force

or terror. Social intelligence is

essential not only to rising to

power, but to keeping it.

Researchers has made the re-

markable discovery that modesty

may be critical to maintaining

power. Individuals who are mod-

est about their own power actual-

ly rise in hierarchies and main-

tain the status and respect of

their peers, while individuals

with an inflated, grandiose sense

of power quickly fall to the bot-

tom. The sociologist Erving

Goffman wrote with brilliant

insight about deference—the

manner in which we afford pow-

er. We can give power to others

simply by being respectfully

polite. And that is what I leave

you with.

Ruby Nagel

NOTIFICATION TO ALL RESIDENTS AND CONTRACTORS IN THE

WILDS

TRANSPORT TRUCKS.

Dear Residents and Contractors, The size of all trucks entering the estate will now

be limited to the following specifications:-

LENGTH 10 meters

HEIGHT 4,1 meters

WEIGHT PAYLOAD

7, 5 Tons on the front axle 1,734

18 Tons on the rear axle 8.634

Total Weight 25.5 tons Total Payload 10.368 Tons

No articulated vehicles.

Only rigid fixed body trucks will be allowed.

No Trailers will be allowed behind vehicles over 4 tons.

Please note that the above is in operation as from the 1 May 2014

Regards,

ESTATE MANAGEMENT continue on page 9

Allowed

Not Allowed

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AIRPORT / TRANSFER SERVICES Shuttling Divined Tel: 081 328 9050 Email: [email protected]

The Ant-Hill Tel: 082 797 3491 Email: [email protected]

PEST CONTROL

Rabboeni Projects Tel: 013 935 3406 / 082 894 6904 Email: [email protected]

AIRCONDITIONERS

Provamp Projects Tel: 082 886 5498 Email: [email protected]

BUILDING CONTRACTORS CARPET & UPHOLSTERY CLEANERS Chem-Dry Tel: 012 803 0654 / 084 466 7723 Email: [email protected]

SA Damp and Coat Tel: 011 467 7600 Email: [email protected]

DAMP & WATER PROOFING Truck & Driver Transport & Removals Tel: 012 654 4398 / 082 447 0638 Email: [email protected]

FURNITURE REMOVAL SERVICES

GARAGE DOORS & MOTORS Garage Doors and Gates Tel: 072 870 5722 Email: [email protected]

A1 Doors & Gates Tel: 072 855 5519 Email: [email protected]

GARAGE DOORS & MOTORS

GARAGE DOORS & MOTORS Rabboeni Projects Tel: 013 935 3406 / 079 080 6908 Email: [email protected]

JM Steel Works Tel: 012 772 0046 / 073 894 3401 Email: [email protected]

GARAGE DOORS & MOTORS

Letitia Bruwer Garden Maintenance Tel: 012 997 2102 / 082 532 2670 Email: [email protected]

GARDEN SERVICES

INTERIOR DECORATING

Botselos Curtain Boutique Tel: 012 663 8091 / 082 896 7886 Email: [email protected]

INTERIOR DECORATING Woodenways Tel: 012 940 6807 / 083 406 1748 Email: [email protected]

Letitia Bruwer Landscapes Tel: 012 997 2102 / 082 532 2670 Email: [email protected]

LANDSCAPING

PAINTING CONTRACTORS Hyper Paint and Plascon paint supplier Tel: 012 4600082 / 083 388 6620 Email: [email protected]

PLUMBING Klever Plumbing Tel: 012 335 6561 / 083 363 3139 Email: [email protected]

PLUMBING TPC Plumbing Tel: 010 591 0558 / 082 490 8314 Email: [email protected]

PLUMBING CJY Plumbing Tel: 081 458 9839 Email: [email protected]

Pool Action Tel: 011 976 3701 Email: [email protected]

POOL SERVICES

RUBBLE REMOVAL Letitia Bruwer Rubble Removal Tel: 012 997 2102 / 082 532 2670 Email: [email protected]

SPORT COACHES Lifestyle Tennis Academy Tel: 082 779 2431 Email: [email protected]

PAVING CLEANING PleaseClean Tel: 078 145 5626 Email: [email protected]

POOL SERVICES PleaseClean Tel: 078 145 5626 Email: [email protected]

WEIGHT LOSS Slim Active Faerie Glen Tel: 071 633 5908 Email: [email protected]

Moreleta Ridge Animal Clinic Tel: 012 997 2617 / 082 556 7152 Email: [email protected]

VETS

MAINTENANCE Wooden Door and Window Treatment Tel: 072 122 8253 Email: [email protected]

APPLIANCE REPAIRS AEK Appliance Repairs Tel: 012 993 2323 Email: [email protected]

BUILDING CONTRACTORS Soter Group Pty Ltd Tel: 012 330 3361 / 083 390 6564 Email: [email protected]

LOC

AL

SER

VIC

E P

RO

VID

ER D

IREC

TOR

Y

FIND YOUR LOCAL SERVICE PROVIDERS RIGHT HERE

Here you will find all the Service Providers which are listed in and around The Wilds Estate. Members has the functionality inside The Wilds Community Portal to rate and comment on the service of any Service Provider. You therefore potentially have access to other member's ratings on any Service Provider's quality of service before you contact them. You can contact these service providers right now, or log into The Wilds Community Portal and find out if they have been rated.

You can advertise your business here! To advertise inside The Wilds e-Trumpeter, please email us [email protected]

A D V E R T I S E

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Company Name Agent’s Name Cell no. Office no. E-mail

Leapfrog Sola Walker 079 618 8468 012 348 1940 [email protected]

FAR properties (Property 100)

Andre Le Sueur Welmie Le Sueur

084 769 5113 083 775 6910 [email protected]

Realty 1 Lorette van Tonder Izelle Matthee Rehan Muller

082 739 1280 083 278 1911 082 372 0278

Fax 086 199 7998

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Remax Gawie Klue Ritha Klue

083 233 5482 083 233 3433

Fax 086 694 6052

[email protected] [email protected]

RE/MAX INFOGLOBE Marge Prinsloo 079 956 5073 [email protected]

Renmor Properties Armand van Zyl Arlene Marais

082 415 4530 082 741 1997

012 9913016 [email protected]

Moreletta Properties Jan Ackerman Carol van der Nest

082 412 8648 071 493 0522 [email protected]

Performer Properties

Kobus van den Vyver 082 575 5815 086 693 7518

012 480 7049 [email protected]

Seeff Properties Yolandé Willemse Dominique Lockhoff Sharon Kroon

083 230 1177 083 412 6919 081 301 1586

[email protected]

[email protected]

Aida Pretoria East Hendrik van der Mer-we

083 453 3636 012 348 3720 [email protected]

Just Letting Vicky Graaf 083 577 6300 012 807 4248 [email protected]

Pam Golding Anita du Toit Lucia Coetzee

082 825 0166 083 760 1908

012 356 9000 012 365 9000

[email protected] [email protected]

Remax Property Merchants

Erna de Bruyn 082 879 3099 012 480 1752 [email protected]

Urban PJJ van Vuuren

Louis Nortje Lida Bramley Deon van Aarde Babs Koekemoer

082 562 8162 082 333 7347 082 921 7338 083 676 0117

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Property 100 Jan Badenhorst 083 264 2452 012 343 7030 012 998 5018

[email protected]

Bianca Properties Vino Baum 082 372 6030 012 809 0012 [email protected]

Faerie Glen Celeste Ruck 083 212 3852 [email protected]

Dunamis Properties

Betsie Strydom 072 122 5586 [email protected]

Apple Property Con-nection

Ansie Jacobs 082 494 6677 012 348 0123 [email protected]

JOHANITA Properties

Chrisita Smit 082 575 3277 [email protected]

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Company Name Agent’s Name Cell no. Office no. E-mail

Monyamane Industrial Services

Anton Ferreira 082 904 3803 012 991 8599 [email protected]

St. John’s Wholesale Nursery

John Brett 073 027 7582 012 546 1813

Aldi Garden Services Abrie Laubsher 082 453 5200 [email protected]

I-Khaya Garden & clean-ing Services

Deon du Toit 071 175 7499 [email protected]

Bee’s Garden Service Danie Groenewald 072 590 8233 012 996 1754 [email protected]

A&J Tuindienste Pierre de beer 083 271 3127 [email protected]

Quintax 247 CC Maria Aletta van Zyl

084 001 9909 012 386 1449 [email protected]

PH Marais Tuindienste PH Marais 084 466 0611 [email protected]

Seakamela Garden Consultants

Albert Seakamela 083 514 7768

The Garden Folk Renier Esterhuysen 076 832 9442 [email protected]

CallOnUs Grounds Ser-vices

Amanda Melo 071 616 2168 011 675 0282 [email protected]

Raindrop Gardens Nicolaas Vreken 082 445 6267 012 802 1403 [email protected]

Altech Maintenance Brian Chambers 083 256 6355

Contact Nadine @ GLOVent

Cell 072 750 2973 Office 086 101 7424 Fax 086 667 161

Email [email protected] [email protected]

TO ADVERTISE

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Nutrition, exercise, sleep: these three form a “triad” and are pillars in promoting ideal health and sound well-being. These three factors

form a sort of checks and balances, allowing the body to function optimally and in harmony with its physiology. When one trait is off-

balance, it throws off the other pillars, decreasing one’s well-being.

Weight Maintenance

To maintain an ideal weight, sleep, nutrition, and exercise must be in check. Sleep is the body’s recovery period, so without enough sleep

you are significantly depriving your body of the most essential health requirement.

Stress Maintenance

Stress, or fight or flight, activates various hormones, to allow the body to “flee from danger.” This in turn increases weight and disrupts the

sleep cycle long-term. However, when a person is mentally and physically sound from exercise, diet and sleep, they can maintain stress to

keep them calm. This is because a person is more aware and can handle certain life events without anxiety.

Reduces Risk of Disease

Heart disease is the number one killer, which mainly occurs because of poor nutrition and lack of exercise. Some sleep disorders are linked

to irregular heartbeats and hypertension. Thus, this chain reaction can be controlled, depending on the quality of a person’s exercise,

nutrition, and sleep patterns.

Promotes Brain Health

Approximately 20 to 25-percent of the body’s blood is in the brain. When the brain is nutrient-less, mental un-clarity and other ailments

start to occur. This also happens when there is not enough glucose in the system. Low blood sugar long-term may lead to panic attacks or

other mental issues. The lesson? Eat, move, and sleep!

Promotes a Synergistic Relationship

The body moves and flows as one unit. People often forget that wellbeing is more than diet and exercise. Sound sleep and proper exercise is

known to boost immune functions and fight off disease quicker. Thus, the symbiotic relationship of the body’s system is only as strong and

healthy as the person’s health.

Long term benefits of exercise, nutrition and sleep

HEALTH & BEAUTY

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RHINO C O N T I N U E

WHAT YOU CAN DO: 1. Do a little research and decide which of the rhino cam-

paigns rings true for you and support it with a monthly debit order

(a quick google search on rhino poaching will bring up the major

players; be careful as not all are legitimate)

2. If you don’t have the cash, hold a fundraising party to raise

funds and do a once-off donation to a campaign of your choice

3. End the myth – circulate information about how ‘the horn

is not medicine’ via email, FB, Twitter and other social media

4. Shop online – a number of the rhino charities sell products,

the proceeds of which go to support their campaigns – buy a t-

shirt, a hat, key rings, armbands etc. (you’ll find these in some ‘real’

stores too)

5. Lobby the president about your rhino concerns, write him

letters and send them to: Tuynhuys, Private Bay X1000, Cape

Town, 8000 or Union Buildings, Private Bag X1000, Pretoria, 0001

6. Use your loyalty shopping cards – cards like Pick n Pay’s

Smart Shopper card and the My Planet card (WW) allows you to

donate to rhino charities

7. Buy a car – some VW dealers donate funds to SANParks anti

-rhino poaching projects

8. Adopt a rhino – some organisations like

www.helpingrhinos.org allow you to adopt a rhino

Stay aware – the more you voice the issues, the more action will

result to protect, save and prevent the rhinos plight.

95% of the world’s rhinos have been lost in the last

40 years

Between 2000 – 2007 roughly 15 rhinos were

poached in South Africa

In 2012, 90 rhinos were killed in the first two

months

200 were killed in the first 4 months of the same

year

Most of them are white rhinos, but amongst them

are black rhino

About 80% of all Africa’s rhinos live in South Africa

There are only an estimated 4 000 black rhinos left

on the continent

Poaching is their biggest threat

Poachers are part of sophisticated criminal syndicates

cates

The root cause: demand for rhino horn in tradition

al Asian medicine

Asia now has money and many who formerly could

n’t, can now afford it

A rhino horn can fetch as much as $1 million USD

The SA government has sent in army troops to protect

rhinos

Some organisations advocate ‘education’ as fundamental

to saving the rhino

Others continue protecting key rhino populations

(conservation has rescued the rhino from the brink of

extinction)

Some advocate injecting rhino horns with a bright colour

dye rendering it useless as it will show up in airport

security scanners (some even talk about adding poison – not

damaging to rhinos or ox-peckers – to the mix)

Some game farm owners are ‘de-horning’ their rhinos to

save their lives

Others advocate we should sell rhino horn from farmed

rhinos (known as the horn harvesting scheme) through

a legal and regulated market (highly contentious but

it removes the incentive to poachers to kill rhinos)

Recent headline news indicates that the SA government

intends sounding out the attitude of other parties on

trading rhino horn at the UN Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna in

Thailand – March 2013

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Rules and regulations: A number of issues have come to the fore since the estate office and the security company

have started enforcing all the rules of the estate. Back ground.

Unfortunately for the passed few years certain rules concerning access of domestics and garden workers have not been

fully enforced. Now that the security committee has picked this up and stopped the practice many residents were up in

arms and became angry. Please note that the estate does not allow illegal immigrants with false papers to work in the es-

tate, the reason for this is that they are desperate for money. We have had occasions where these people have broken into

neighbouring houses and stolen goods. Another instant was where the domestic accused her employer of not paying her

enough and tried to push her down the stairs. The latest one was a gardener who stole money and is alleged to have also

stolen a fire arm from his employer. The police were called in.

Illegal Access

You may ask. ”How can this happen?”

It is because the resident drives to outside the main gate the worker gets into the car and is brought into the estate as a vis-

itor, the domestic or gardener more than likely does not have a legal document to work in South Africa. When such an

instant occurs we have no record of this person in the estate because they have not entered through the turn style where a

camera records a picture of them the time the entered as well as the stand number to which they are going.

Security Rules H

Please take note of these rules listed in last month’s e-Trumpeter.

H. 2) Security rules and protocol at the gates and elsewhere in the township shall be adhered to at all times.

H. 3) Any ID card system to be introduced by the association for permanent workers, temporary workers and contactor

representatives must be conscientiously enforced by every owner with respect t people in his/her employ or contacted to

him/her. H. 4) Owners are obliged to request visitors to adhere to security protocol and owners are requested to treat

the security personnel in a co-operative and courteous manner.

Rules concerning size of trucks allowed into the estate

10m Allowed

Pets Estate Rule N

N.2) Without the written approval of the association no person may keep more than two dogs and two cats on an site.

N.4) Pets are not allowed to roam the streets.

N.7) Every pet must wear a collar with a tag indicating the name, telephone number and address of the owner. Stray

pets without identification tags will be handed to the municipal pound or the SPCA.

I appeal to all the estate agents working in the estate to please inform new residents and buyers moving into the estate of

these rules especially those mentioned above.

Estate manager Norman Padoa.

FROM THE MANAGERS OFFICE August 2014

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PRAYER WALKERS

PRAYER WALKERS August 2014.

In John 16:16 Jesus said to His disciples, “A little while, and you will see me no more; again a little while, and you will

see me.”

Every Christian will experience “little whiles in their lives, times when it seems that God almost goes away, and we

have to hang on by faith until He comes again. What comes of these times of waiting depends upon how we enter into

them --- whether we sense the meaning and purpose of these times or whether we just suffer through them. Jesus sets the

goal for this time of waiting when He says, “You shall know joy that no one shall take away from you.” God’s purpose

in a time of waiting is to lead you to such joy. The watchword to raise up over a time of waiting is simply this: “God is

at work.” No other promise, no other reality can so stir up your heart with confidence as the knowledge that God is at

work.

What then is necessary if we are to live through these times of waiting?

First of all, we need Knowledge. We need to know that God does have a plan, and that He is accomplishing something;

we are not going through a time which has no meaning. Secondly, we need to Trust. We have to lay hold upon that

knowledge and trust the Word of God.

Thirdly, we have to exercise Persistence. In clinging to the Word of God.

Knowing the Word of God. Scripture says that the Word of God is like a seed. A seed always has to have a period

of growth. It is during that period of growth that you must be patient so the thing that God has promised and planned for

you may come to full ripeness. For He wants you to have a joy which no one can take from you. It is in these times that

we must cling to the word of God and His promises. We need to break loose from a short sighted vision. Need to shift

our focus from our own resources to His resources-----from what we are able to do, to what He is able and waiting to do.

In times of waiting God frustrates our own efforts to the point where we have to look to Him. We are pilgrims on this

earth. We are living out a trial period during which God is preparing us for greater things. If you know this in your mind,

and believe it, you can lead a completely different life. “They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They

will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not be weary, they will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

This the kind of knowledge we need to feed on in those times of waiting.

Trusting the Word of God. When you have this specific knowledge, you must lay hold of it and trust it. You must

commit yourself to God’s plan. Jesus did exactly that as he stood before Pilate. “As a lamb before its shearers is dumb,

so He opened not his mouth.” Jesus said nothing to defend Himself He went through the humiliation of the crucifixion

because He knew. He trusted God’s word even in the midst of pain and humiliation. In the book of revelation John

weeps because there is no one is found worthy to open the scroll. As he is weeping, someone comes and says, ”Weep

not, for the Lion of the tribe Judah is worthy to open the scroll” This is Christ---this is the Messiah! John lifts his eyes.

And does he see a lion? No he sees one like a lamb, a lamb which had been slain but is now alive. And suddenly he real-

ises, The Lion is the Lamb! The sovereign power of God was at work in the weakness of the one being crucified. Jesus

trusted Gods Word during that time of waiting and through that trust God brought life out of death.

Persisting in the Word of God. You must have knowledge to live through these times of waiting when God is

working out His plans in your life. The story of Joseph in the bible is a picture of persisting even in all the trials and

temptations he faced. He was sold into slavery, he was falsely accused and thrown into goal. Freed from goal he was

raised to a chief in the king’s palace and was instrumental in the salvation of the Hebrews from famine at that time. The

times in our lives are not easy to endure. They aren’t the days that you normally tell people about, like the days when

God is close and real. But they are days when God is doing a wonderful work in your heart and life. They are days when

God is working out a plan that involves you and all those with whom you will come into contact. They are the days

when you take courage to raise up over your life the standard, “Walk carefully. God is at work.”

Receive the blessings of God.

Prayer walkers.

[Norman]

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In Western Iraq, exacerbating tensions

more or less amounts to an ongoing reli-

gious civil war in the country. As a re-

sult the United States has been toying

with the idea of re-entering the fray, un-

willing to see their hard work in the re-

gion so quickly unravelled, yet equally

unwilling to reinvest in what was such an

unpopular war.

Who is doing the fighting?

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS as it's known, is a Sunni insur-gent group that is backed by al-Qaeda, and has recently launched a violent offensive in the country. The group's forces consist of not only Ira-qis, but extremists from across the region who are fighting to redraw the boarders of the Middle East for the creation of a new state, ruled by a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

This past week ISIS took the cities of Falluja, Mosul and Ramadi on their road to Baghdad. As you'll recall, American forces drew some of their heaviest casualties while securing those cities, as they have traditionally been insurgent strongholds.

Why isn't the Iraqi gov-ernment taking charge of their own security?

Iraqi president Nouri al-Maliki has

unfortunately be the source of the

fuel for much of this sectarian vio-

lence. Sunnis have accused Maliki of

engaging in offensive rhetoric against

Sunnis, while the government re-

mains pretty much entirely under the

control of the Shi'ite Muslims. Fur-

thermore, the Iraqi military lacks

both the unity and training necessary

to ward off such extreme acts of force.

According to Anthony H. Cordesman and Sam Khazai of the Center for Strategic and International Stud-ies, “Maliki has intimidated and driv-en key Sunni figures out of his gov-ernment, ignored agreements to cre-ate a national unity government, al-ienated the Kurds and tried to repress

Conflict in Iraq

Which the United States had

declared a successful end to ,

suddenly flared up again, with

al-Qaeda forces taking control

of a number of critical cities

A full-blown civil war in Iraq, in ad-dition to Syria, could further increase sectarian tensions and destabilize the region."

So what's the United States going to do? On Thursday President

Obama announced that he would be

sending 300 military advisors to Iraq to

get a greater sense of the governments

needs and the situation on the group,

while maintaining that he would not

send American troops back to Iraq. He

also announced that Secretary of State

John Kerry would be headed to the re-

gion to engage in diplomatic talks. The

Iraqi government has requested air

strikes from America in an effort to slow

ISIS's path to Baghdad. President Obama

however, has expressed his hesitation

that any use of military force in the re-

gion could signal that the United States

was interested in restarting the war in

Iraq. Senators Lindsey Graham and John

McCain, which have a track record of

being hawkish when it comes to foreign

affairs, have both called for air strikes,

and in the case of McCain, for the de-

ployment of a special forces team to

work the Iraqi military to protect Bagh-

dad. While the situation in Iraq will like-

ly get worse before it gets better, based

on President Obama's current foreign

policy, it is unlikely that we'll see any

significant American involvement in the

conflict.

What do other countries in the region think about all this?

For starters, ISIS has only gained

strength thanks to the ongoing civil

war in Syria. That conflict has caused

a large number of refugees and tran-

sient extremists. While fighting for

control in Iraq, ISIS has built a

strong, almost friendly community

presence in areas without any clear

governance, laying the groundwork

to build loyalty and thus breed more

terrorists. The only upside to ISIS's

presence in Syria is that it puts added

pressure on Syrian president Bashar

Assad.

Meanwhile, Iran's close relationship Assad and effort to prop his admin-istration up means that the Iranian regime is equally threatened by ISIS. Reports have emerged that Iran has actually sent special forces into Iraq to protect Baghdad and the Shi'ite government located there. As of Thursday, there were also reports that ISIS had made it to Lebanon, threatening suicide attacks against Hezbollah, so long as the group con-tinues to back Assad in Syria. Ac-cording to CNN, "Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are all seen by many experts as proxy wars between Shiite Iran and Saudi Arabia, a Sunni nation.

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