These incidents of course unite all of the grieving families who are left not understanding why they have been deprived of their loved ones. Some pundits believe that Iraq is not on the brink of a civil war, although the violence is following very sectarian lines. Where friendships have been tentatively made, these are being destroyed by a Saddam-supporting insurgency and principally Al-Qaeda, working to cause anarchy instead of law and order in Iraq.

Is it too much to ask of this tiny nation that they attempt to set aside their differences and form a more secular government that is acceptable to not only the Shi'ites, but also the Kurds and the Sunnis? It seems that the people crave the freedom but they are not able to set aside their sectarian and tribal biases in order to enjoy the fruits of the freedom that has been handed over to them through their courage to vote under great threat to life and limb.

Hello Iraq, Al-Qaeda is your enemy, as is insistance on Islamic theology driving the train of freedom. That train will never leave the station, without the right conductor, and Shi'ite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafar may not be the right man for the job. However, there are glimmers of hope:

In a statement Friday, al-Jaafari pledged to rebuild the Shiite shrine that was wrecked in Samarra as well as Sunni mosques damaged in reprisal attacks. He also launched an investigation to establish responsibility for the Samarra bombing "and what followed."

In its statement, the Sunni front said the prime minister's statement included "positive signs."

Maybe, just maybe, the stage may be in the process of being set for the begining of Shiite-Sunni unity, once Iraqis realize the alternative is a much broken Iraq, and the undoing of all their efforts in behalf of democracy, illustrated by their tremendous exercise in turning out to vote against great odds of even surviving the day.

Related:

Hope is still limping along, trying to flee a deadly fate
Fearful Iraqis wonder if civil war around corner