A parable

From this morning's Al-Quds al-Arabi (Thursday Nov 15, p 1):

The director of the southern-region office of the Iraqi Human Rights ministry, Mahdi Tamimi, said his ministry rejects what the American forces have done at their Camp Bucca prison camp, segregating prisoners on a sectarian basis, because of trouble-making elements that have caused sect-based violence. Tamimi said:

This is alien to Iraqi society whether on the street or in a prison. We have worked hard in many meetings with the Americans to see that we isolate those individuals who are responsible for starting sect-based troubles. And this is the view of the ministry and of his excellency the minister, that Sunni and Shiite prisoners are treated the same, and that we segregate those who start the trouble. The ministry is opposed to segregation on a sect basis, but agrees to segregation of the troublemakers and those who help them.