The Shadow of Arms Control in Iraq's Fragile State As the September 30 deadline to restrict all weapons to state control looms over Iraq, a complex web of power and politics threatens to upend the country's already precarious balance of forces.
At stake is not just the government's authority to monopolize arms but also the very notion of sovereignty in a nation torn apart by sectarian divisions.
Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi faces an unenviable task: taming the mightiest of Shia armed groups, which have long been the linchpin of his party's survival.