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Iraq partition our best bet so far
4.10.2007
opinion
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October
4, 2007
Many solutions have been proposed for the current
situation in Iraq. Some of them are completely
impractical, others may have some merit, but there
is one that has recently come to the forefront as
perhaps the most thought out and intelligent of the
bunch. Just last week, the Senate approved a
non-binding resolution calling for a federalized
Iraqi government. The resolution says President Bush
ought to recommend a federalized Iraqi government,
but only push for it if the Iraqi government agrees.
A federalized Iraq would work like a much smaller
and simpler version of the United States. The
country would be divided into three states, one for
each of the main ethnic groups, Sunni, Shiite and
Kurdish. Each of these states would be responsible
for local issues such as road maintenance, security,
and state courts, just as states in the U.S. are
responsible for the same.
As has been proven recently, entrusting security of
an area to its residents works well. The Kurds have
faced little violence in Kurdistan 'northern Iraq'
and much of their security is due to the Peshmerga,
a Kurdish militia that has stepped up to provide
policing and security. Even in Baghdad, when the
Mahdi Army was in control of Shiite areas, those
places were subjected to a much lower level of
violence than when the American military was in
command. The American government has actually
already begun embracing this strategy of regional
security by arming and legitimizing Sunni militias
in their tribal regions. Armed with American
weapons, these tribal militias have done an
admirable job of driving out al Qaeda insurgents
from their homelands.
The Iraqi central government would be responsible
for very little actually. All they would be expected
to do would be to provide security for Iraq's
borders to the outside world, keep a strong,
centralized army and equitably distribute Iraq's oil
revenues so as to benefit all three states.
Until recently, the main argument against a
federalized Iraq was the unequal distribution of
oil. The oil fields themselves are located mostly in
Kurdish and Shiite held areas. Iraqi Sunnis,
therefore, are concerned they will be excluded in a
three-state arrangement. If the federal government
controls oil revenues, however, money can be
distributed to benefit reconstruction and
maintenance of essential infrastructure throughout
the country.
Iraq is already divided along sectarian lines.
Forcing warring tribes into a unity government will
do nothing. As has been shown, some groups simply up
and leave if they don't get their way. A federal
government would allow each group to rule its own
area as it sees fit, but has incentives for the
areas to cooperate to receive the mutual benefits
from oil money. The Iraqi federalism plan is the
only one to have any sort of merit. It is fairly
easily implemented and will allow our troops to come
home sooner.
dailycampus com
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