With President George W BushÂ’s war strategy clouded by limited results and mounting casualties, two scholars are proposing a partition plan that would divide Iraq into three main regions. The authors, Edward P Joseph of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Michael OÂ’Hanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, are hoping to draw the attention of Bush administration policymakers. | Wonder if they bothered to ask any Iraqis? |
Sen. Joseph Biden, who is a Democratic presidential candidate and
The idea has gained some attention in Congress but has not been embraced by the Bush administration. “The time may be approaching when the only hope for a more stable Iraq is a soft partition of the country,” the report by Joseph and O’Hanlon said.
Administration strategy is geared toward building up a strong central government. But US public support is declining, and according to some observers, Iraq may be on the verge of civil war.
| Then again, it may be on the verge of stomping out al-Qaeda and co-opting the Sunni tribal chiefs, and isolating some of the more goofy Shi'as. |
| Turns out the Iraqi constitution already allows for considerable regional goverance, which the Kurds are exploting to the fullest. This report is about a year behind. |
The proposal would require the acquiescence of major political factions in Iraq. There would be substantial, voluntary movement in mixed, volatile areas. For instance, Saddam and his predecessors deliberately settled Arab Shiites and Sunnis in Kirkuk to disadvantage the Kurds, Joseph said. Arabs settled there have expressed willingness to move out if they are provided with housing and a livelihood elsewhere.
In Baghdad, rather than keeping vulnerable minorities in tense parts of the capital, Joseph said, “It might make sense to move them voluntarily to places where they would be safer.” Among the Shiites, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim of the Supreme Islamic Council has called for a Shiite region for years. But Muqtada al-Sadr and others in the Shiite leadership oppose it, as do the major Sunni politicians.
| And there you have it: the nerve of Iraqis to fail to embrace the gorgeous plan! |