The alleged, and more importantly perceived, menacing violence perpetrated by certain elements of the Iraq security services against the Sunni community is cause for concern in its potential to inflame sectarian conflict and civil war.

As the New York Times notes, it is thought that the central actors in this violence are, ?current and former members of the Badr Brigade [Group Profile], the Iranian-backed militia controlled by the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a principal part of the current government.? The Shia Badr Brigade operates within and outside the official Iraqi security services, and their alleged abuses of the Sunni community may be motivated by vengeance and a settling of scores against the Sunnis. The Sunnis were the privileged, ruling elite under the Hussein regime who rode roughshod over the majority Shia of Iraq.