"Trading Spaces" Iraqi style

Antonio Castaneda:

Fearing sectarian death squads, Iraqis are trading homes with trusted friends from the other sect, surrounding themselves with those who share their faith but creating segregated neighborhoods increasingly wary of one other.

Iraqi officers say about 1,500 families have fled this religiously mixed city 25 miles west of Baghdad. Many others have moved to neighborhoods where their sect predominates -- either deserting their former homes or exchanging them with people from the other brand of Islam.

"Friends from different sects say, 'Let's trade houses, then we'll move back when things settle down,"' said Brig. Gen. Abdullah Abdul Kareem Abdul Sattar, commander of Iraqi forces in this city of about 80,000.

So far the city has escaped rampant sectarian attacks. Many families have moved to avoid the military checkpoints that delay travel to jobs in Baghdad.

But the trucks packed with household goods that shuttle between neighborhoods underscore the sectarian fault line. Iraqi soldiers have tried to persuade residents to stay, but they acknowledge that influential tribal and religious leaders have encouraged many to leave.

"All day long you'll see trucks moving back and forth to where they think it's safer, but they're taking those grudges with them," Abdullah said. "The best we can do is stop them at checkpoints, and assure them of their safety and security."

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This is the unfortunate result of al Qaeda strategy in Iraq. If al Qaeda were to succeed in Iraq most of the movement would be of Shia moving into mass graves. The Sunnis also bear responsibility for this migration. They are going to have to come to terms with being a minority.