Allawi says: "this is the start of civil war"

The sectarian violence in Iraq is increasing. It isn't suprising to anybody who is familiar with Iraq's history that the tensions between the various sects did not dissipate with the arrival of the Americans. These people have been in conflict with each other for centuries.

How could the people planning this war not expect that they would go back to fighting each other after Saddam was brought down? Did they seriously think that "Democracy" would magically fix centuries of fighting and tensions?

These people did not become the "State of Iraq" by their own design! They were created by the British and French in 1920 when they carved up the old Ottoman Empire. Americans came together on purpose to form a new nation, the Iraqis did not.

I cannot decide if the Neocon's mistake was arrogance or ignorance in this. Their entire plan for this post-war conflict seems to have consisted of "Eh, it will work itself out".