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Tue 3 May, 2005 11:06 am
Is it necessary that the disparate peoples of Iraq live together as one state, that is the Kurds, the Shiites, and the Sunnis? Is the partition of Iraq into three countries a reasonable alternative to a forced unity?
India, after their freedom from the British dictorship, partitioned into India and Pakistan. Yugoslavia, held together under the brutal dictatorship of Tito, broke up after his death. The brutal dictatorship of Sadamm Hussein held Iraq together, so can the disparate peoples of Iraq exist together without authoritariansim, and should they be forced to live together under one flag?
That in all likelihood might be the most logical solution. However, since many of the Kurds,Sunnis and Shiites occupy the same space that would be impossible. It would require massive relocation. Further, how would the wealth that comes from the oil be divided?
Yes, it probably involve mass migration as it did in India after partition, and Palastine, and, I suppost, Yugoslavia too. The oil would be a problem, especially for the Sunnis, who would be cut out. On the other hand, is there any reason to believe that the current civil war will ever end without extreme measures?
I know it might not go over well, but a model like our own seems like it would be in their best interest. United states of Iraq, with governors of the north central and south. Each group, while possibly a minority over all, would be a majority in one of those regions and enjoy a certain amount of independence, while natural resources and defense responsibilities would be shared and a weak (ok, it's no longer like ours) centralized government would handle those things and be run by representatives of each state.
Ultimately, the Kurds want an independant Kurdistan.
For now they will settle for autonomy within a federal union, but they
won't give up their national aspirations. Nor will they give up Kirkuk as
part of Kurdistan.
The Iraqi Arabs oppose this. Kirkuk is oil-rich.
The Turks oppose this. They fear their own Kurds (or mountain-Turks,
since the Turks do not acknowledge Turkish Kurds as Kurds) will attempt
to secede form Turkey and join Kurdistan.
The Iranians oppose this. They have a worrisome Kurdish population of
their own.
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