Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sunday warned of “polarization” across the region, saying “regional competition” was negatively affecting Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sunday warned of “polarization” across the region, saying “regional competition” was negatively affecting Iraq.

As he led a ceremony marking the anniversary of the founding of the country's armed forces. Maliki said regional “competition and polarization exists in the region, and what is surrounding us, sectarian tension, is affecting Iraq badly.”
  
“Our forces now are not fighting terrorist groups or isolated criminal groups, they are fighting groups backed by dangerous Takfirist (extremist) ideology,” Maliki said in a speech to army officers in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

Maliki also called for the armed forces to be equipped to be a defensive force, but added that Iraq did not want an "arms race." "The army today is responsible for protecting a great country and it must be up to the task," Maliki said. "It should be well trained and equipped with modern weapons, and that is what we are seeking for it."