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Government

Departing U.S. Army chief says Iraq may have to be partitioned

2015-08-13

[Al Arabiya] The U.S. Army's outgoing chief of staff warned Wednesday that reconciliation between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq is becoming harder and that partitioning the country "might be the only solution."

General Raymond Odierno, who once served as the top U.S. commander in Iraq and retires Friday after nearly 40 years in uniform, said the U.S. focus for now should be on defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the militant group that has seized large portions of the country.

But in a valedictory news conference he took a pessimistic view about the underlying conflict between Shiites and Sunnis that brought the two communities to brink of civil war in 2006.

Asked if he saw any possibility of reconciliation between the two, Odierno said "It's becoming more difficult by the day" and pointed to a future in which "Iraq might not look like it did in the past."

Asked about partition, he said: "I think that is for the region and politicians to figure out, diplomats to figure out how to work this, but that is something that could happen.

"It might be the only solution but I'm not ready to say that yet."

Posted by:Besoeker

#8 Nice one BP. I think some GBU-43/B formatting is warranted as well.

Posted by: Rex Mundi 2015-08-13 13:41

#7 Iraq c:
Iraq d:

Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2015-08-13 11:40

#6 The 'large North American country' is already "partitioned." Problem is, the same inept, beltway gov't runs both partitions.

Posted by: Besoeker 2015-08-13 10:55

#5 Hey, General, about your points, why wouldn't it apply to, say, a very large country in North America?

Posted by: Procopius2k 2015-08-13 10:53

#4 Ray is the same fella that thinks female RANGERS are a trend of the future.

Posted by: Besoeker 2015-08-13 10:36

#3 "Biden, you magnificent bastard - I read your speech!"

Posted by: Pappy 2015-08-13 10:26

#2 And who should be responsible for the division?

The UN? The Russkies? The Chinese? The Iraqis?

Posted by: AlanC 2015-08-13 08:35

#1 All Arab countries have to be partitioned---into very small peaces, by preference.

Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-08-13 05:45

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