. 24/7 Space News .
How To Divide Iraq

Not a single Iraqi neighbor, including the Gulf nations, has backed the idea of a federation because it is as dangerous as it is attractive, at least for now. Any decision on the Kurdish autonomy problem in Iraq is bound to have repercussions in traditional Kurdish-populated areas of Turkey, Syria and Iran.
by Pyotr Goncharov
RIA Novosti political commentator
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Oct 10, 2007
The U.S. idea of settling the Iraqi problem may follow the Bosnian scenario. In late September, the U.S. Senate approved a resolution supporting the idea of dividing Iraq into three administrative and territorial entities by religion and ethnic origin. This resolution may not lead to the final partition, but may easily explode the situation in Iraq again.

The resolution suggests that Iraq should be divided into three enclaves - with Shiites in the south, Sunnis in the center and Kurds in the north. They will have one federal center in Baghdad. The capital will only be responsible for the security of the federation's borders and control of oil profits. It will delegate the majority of administrative and government functions to the territorial entities.

At first sight, this idea looks attractive, all the more so since the federal principle is sealed by the draft new Iraqi Constitution, on which a national referendum will be held on October 15. The Iraqi newspaper as-Sabah reported recently the results of the public opinion poll conducted by the Iraqi Center for the Development of International Dialogue - the majority of Iraqis are going to vote for the draft.

But for all that, the U.S. Senators seem to be divorced from the Iraqi reality. There are several obvious "but's," which they might have considered in the resolution.

The fact that the latter was recently backed by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, an ethnic Kurd, will only further escalate tensions in the country, if only because it was categorically opposed by the more influential Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, an Iraqi Shiite.

The Iraqi parliament and a number of prominent Sunni and Shiite parties also objected to the federation idea. In effect, it was only supported by the Kurds who live in the north where the main reserves of Iraqi oil are located.

The plan to separate the Shiite south from the Sunni center looks dubious as well. The White House should have learnt a lesson from the Balkan problem about religious compatibility or lack of it. In any country, the balance between different religions has been taking shape for centuries and is extremely fragile. Any imprudent decision may upset it, and one side may take it as an attempt to encroach on its interests to the benefit of the other.

The Sunnis, the former rulers of the country, will no longer have sea ports in the south or oil in the north. They are not likely to be happy about the U.S. resolution even though it provides for a twenty percent deduction from oil sales to the Iraqi federal budget.

As for the Iraqi Shiite south, Washington and its Gulf allies - Riyadh, Amman, the Kuwait City and Baghdad - are afraid that under certain circumstances it may easily turn into Iran's protectorate. There are many debates on this subject, as well as on the U.S. plan for Iraq's partition.

Not a single Iraqi neighbor, including the Gulf nations, has backed the idea of a federation because it is as dangerous as it is attractive, at least for now. Any decision on the Kurdish autonomy problem in Iraq is bound to have repercussions in traditional Kurdish-populated areas of Turkey, Syria and Iran.

Luckily, the U.S. Senate resolution is not binding for Iraq or the U.S. administration. It was passed as an amendment to a bill on U.S. military policy and Washington may not even accept it. If it does, Gen. David Petraeus's plan to withdraw 30,000 U.S. soldiers from Iraq by the summer of 2008 will never be carried out.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

Source: RIA Novosti

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Britain to cut Iraq troops to 2,500 by early 2008: PM
London (AFP) Oct 8, 2007
Britain will more than halve the number of its troops in Iraq to 2,500 by next spring, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday, in a long-expected statement.







  • Malaysian astronaut's rocket rolled out to launchpad
  • Russia readies rocket for Malaysian's space launch
  • Russian MP to become 'space tourist' in 2008: report
  • 21st-century space flight salutes the father of sci-fi, Jules Verne

  • Spirit Arrives At Stratigraphic Wonderland In Columbia Hills On Mars
  • Duck Bay, Victoria Crater, Planet Mars
  • Are manned missions needed to explore Mars and beyond
  • Spirit Makes Progress Across Home Plate

  • SSTL Satellites Sign-Up For 2008 Launch
  • Arianespace Boosts Intelsat 11 And Optus D2 Into Orbit
  • Ariane 5 rocket puts US, Australian satellites into orbit
  • Ariane 5 Cleared For Intelsat 11 And Optus D2 Mission

  • Successful Image Taking By The High Definition Television
  • Boeing Launches WorldView-1 Earth-Imaging Satellite
  • New Faraway Sensors Warn Of Emerging Hurricane's Strength
  • Key Sensor For Northrop Grumman NPOESS Program Passes Critical Structural Test

  • Maneuver Puts New Horizons On A Straight Path To Pluto
  • Outbound To The Outerplanets At 7 AU
  • Charon: An Ice Machine In The Ultimate Deep Freeze
  • New Horizons Slips Into Electronic Slumber

  • The Dark Matter Of The Universe Has A Long Lifetime
  • A New Reduction Of The Hipparcos Catalogues
  • Into The Chrysalis
  • 'Orphan' Stars Found In Long Galaxy Tail

  • Japan's lunar probe enters orbit as space race heats up
  • Goddard Lunar Science On A Roll
  • Lunar Outpost Plans Taking Shape
  • A New Lunar Impact Observatory

  • New York taxi cabs sound the horn for second strike
  • EU deadlocked over funding for Galileo satnav project
  • EU plans for funding Galileo satnav system already hitting snags
  • Galileo GPS Network Hit By More Delays

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement