Perspective: Why cousin marriage matters in Iraq

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. Compared with the rest of the world, the United States is a young country. Its people left many of their traditional social structures behind, crossed vast oceans, and started anew. So to understand the lives of the majority of people around the world, who live within institutions that have shaped human existence for centuries, Americans need to make a special effort to see things from a very different perspective.

All too often, the US carries out foreign policy with little comprehension of the societies it confronts. This can lead to unintended -- often destructive -- results.

One central element of the Iraqi social fabric that most Americans know little about is its astonishing rate of cousin marriage. Indeed, half of all marriages in Iraq are between first or second cousins. Among countries with recorded figures, only Pakistan and Nigeria rate as high.

Read the rest at ABC News