Islamists Put Tunisia on Road to Civil War

Great!  Another middle-east country ready to spiral into civil war as militant Islamists try to take over.

"Tunisia: Prime Minister Ali Larayedh has begun talks with opposition parties including the National Salvation Front in an effort to form a caretaker government and prepare for elections.

Comment: A surge in violent clashes between Islamists and secular opposition groups and the police provided the impetus for Larayedh and his pro-Islamist Ennahda Party cohorts to begin the talks. This week six policemen have been killed by Islamists in attacks. A car bomb ready to detonate was found and defused at one site of recent clashes. In retaliation secular opposition groups have ransacked and burned Ennahda Party offices in one town outside Tunis.

Tunisia heretofore had avoided the violence that accompanied political change in Egypt and Libya. The backlash by secular and moderate Muslim parties against the political overreaching by Ennahda has put Tunisia on the same path as the others.

Larayedh still seeks to slow-roll the negotiation process by insisting that the drafting of a long overdue constitution be completed and a firm election date be set before he transfers power to a technocratic caretaker government. His delaying tactics have created conditions for a steady deterioration of internal security.

The Ennahda agreement with the opposition parties stipulates that the Ennahda-led government shall resign and be replaced within three weeks by a neutral interim government of technocrats. If Larayedh and his men do not comply, security conditions will get much worse."
Islamists Put Tunisia on Road to Civil War