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Be realistic: Let Iraq divide as
Yugoslavia did
6.8.2007
By Barry S. Riehle
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August 6, 2007
While the president has refused to define what
success in Iraq is, I believe it is safe to say that
it includes a single country based on democratic
principles. I don't think that is realistic.
Iraq is like the former Yugoslavia. It was created
after World War I out of disparate peoples who had
not gotten along for centuries. Once the strongman
was out of the picture the old enmities reappeared.
How do we expect to make Iraq with Shiites, Sunnis
and Kurds play nice with each other in a few short
years? This is not feasible.
I propose that the U.S. engineer the same kind of
arrangement that NATO did in the former Yugoslavia:
allow Iraq to fracture according to natural lines,
so that each of the three entities will be
autonomous.
The critics will say: That would leave Iran as the
biggest player in the region. Does anyone actually
think that when the U.S. leaves Iraq that Iran won't
be the most dominant country? We need to face
reality.
Turkey will be upset if the Kurds in Iraq try to
unite with the Kurds in Turkey. That is already
happening. Turkey has a sizable army at its border,
and there are already incursions by both the Turks
and Kurds.
What if they don't have democracies? Then they will
be like most of their neighbors.
What about Al-Qaida? Al-Qaida is getting stronger
every day with us in Iraq because they are angry we
are occupying an Islamic country. If we get out we
will actually save lives and lots of money that we
can put to a good use at home.
Will this make the three sides completely happy? Of
course not. But it can stop the killing, just like
in the former Yugoslavia. It will allow them to
forge an uneasy peace that they can live with.
Barry S. Riehle lives in Anderson Township, where he
has been a physics teacher at Turpin High School for
the past 22 years. He holds a bachelor's degree in
physics and master's degrees in theology and
Scripture.
enquirer com
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