Even before Saddam was hanged the battle lines were almost neatly drawn and the daily terrorists acts were causing civilians deaths to the proportion of a near genocide in Iraq. It seems highly unlikely that even with the US exit can in any way alter the scenario. On the contrary it can only get even worse with the future of Iraq being used as a barometer to gauge whether the Shias or the Sunnis would eventually have a greater say in West Asia. With Saudi Arabia making it amply clear that in the eventuality of US led forces’ exit from Iraq, Saudi Arabia would send its forces to protect the Sunni minority from the mayhem created by Shia insurgents (supported by the Iranian regime) of Badr Brigade, the militia wing of the supreme council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and Mahdi Army owing allegiance to Shiite hardliner Moqtada Al-Sadr, the future of Iraq is indeed bleak. The triangular love (sic.)affair is complimented by the Peshmerga militias of Kurdishtan. Each of them is fighting for their own self interest. While the Shia and Sunni rivalry and one-upmanship can be understood, Kurdish angle is for the creation of their own motherland called Kurdistan in Northern Iraq. And they would swear their allegiance to just about any group who promises them that. Under such circumstances the only way out is to make sure that there is complete quarantine of the people of each ethnic community from other. Better said than done, but in essence, Iraq is not a unique case as the last century has been a testimony to similar violent ethnic clashes that erupted in Yugoslavia. The only way then was the creation of Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and Kosovo. Balkanisation seems to be the only panacea to stop the mindless mayhem in Iraq which is likely to reach apocalyptic proportions after Saddam Hussain’s execution. Pathikrit Payne