Galbraith's latest attempt at justifying Iraq's partition. He may very well be right, and if so, it is quite breathtaking to think about what this really means. We invaded a country based on lies, causing the death of hundreds of thousands of its citizens, and the displacement of millions of others. Now, we are going to destroy it by carving it up into three separate countries. Just think about it....and then realize why the rest of the world hates us so much.
Make Walls, Not War
But over the long term, the former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union are better analogies to Iraq than Bosnia. Democracy destroyed those states because, as in Iraq, there was never a shared national identity, and a substantial part of the population did not want to be part of the country.
So we should stop arguing over whether we want “partition” or “federalism” and start thinking about how we can mitigate the consequences of Iraq’s unavoidable breakup. Referendums will need to be held, as required by Iraq’s Constitution, to determine the final borders of the three regions. There has to be a deal on sharing oil money that satisfies Shiites and Kurds but also guarantees the Sunnis a revenue stream, at least until the untapped oil resources of Sunni areas are developed. And of course a formula must be found to share or divide Baghdad.
By PETER W. GALBRAITH
Op-Ed Contributor |
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