RAND Corporation: Opinion: Brian Michael Jenkins: Iraq Observations: The Future of Iraq

Iraq

RAND Corporation: Opinion: Brian Michael Jenkins: Iraq Observations

I posted this a few days ago on this blog about then Senator Joe Biden proposing back in 2007-08 to partition Iraq which of course the Iraqi people would have to approve themselves. And how that may of seem radical then and even a few months ago when Iraq still look fairly stable. But now with the chaos going on in Iraq that 3-4 state solution inside of a Federal Republic of Iraq with a federalist system. Which each state having autonomy over their own domestic affairs now looks like a very reasonable approach.

It wouldn’t make much sense to propose that now especially in an ongoing civil war in Iraq. Some level of security would have to be retained first that leaves the country as one. Without the North breaking away from Baghdad and the South and West remaining part of the Federal Republic as well. But assuming the Federal Government and Iraq with their military can regain control of the country at least to the point that the country is still officially one country, then maybe the partition idea would make a lot of sense.

The partition idea would have to have a responsible government in the Province of Baghdad where Baghdad City is also located which in the Central West of the country. A responsible government in the West where the Sunnis would govern. A responsible government in the North where the Kurds would govern. And a responsible government in the South where the Shia would government. Meaning the terrorists in each of these areas would have to be defeated first. Which is no small order considering the current Federal Government in Iraq.

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National Post: Staff: An Historical Look at How Iraq Was Formed: A Three State Solution For Iraq

National Post: Staff: An Historical Look at How Iraq Was Formed

Back in 2006-07 then U.S. Senator Joe Biden as he was then Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee in 2006 and then when Democrats won back Congress in 2006 he became Chairman of that committee proposed a radical idea about Iraq which was beaten down by both Republicans and Democrats in the last few years. His idea was that Iraq would remain a one independent country, but that three new states would be created inside of Iraq. Kurdistan in the North. A Sunnistan or Sunni-Arab state in Western Iraq. And a Shiastan or Shia-Arab state in the South.

Well since Iraq reached a certain level of sustainability and competence under the Maliki Administration the last seven years or so with a real federal united republic being formed there. So Senator Biden’s idea about breaking up Iraq into these three ethnic and religious states or divisions similar to Britain looked well cooky if not radical. Since Iraq seemed to have reached some level of legitimacy and sustainability as a united federal republic.

Well over the last few weeks thanks to the ISIS now in control of parts of Iraq, ISIS being the Islāmic terrorist group Iraq’s future as an independent united nation looks at best up in the air. With the idea of Northern Iraq breaking away from the rest of the country now seems to look credible if not definite. And Senator Biden’s idea about a three state Iraq not only looking less radical, but a strong proposal that had it gone through in 2007-08 maybe Iraq is a unified country now not looking at a civil war. With all the competing factions having the power and responsibility over their own domestic affairs.

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Contra Corner: Opinion: Michael Krieger: Mission Accomplished in Iraq

Contra Corner: Opinion: Michael Krieger: Conflagration in Iraq is all the Proof You Need to Know

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on Blogger 

Whatever you think of the War in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 when it officially ended with American troops pulling out the “mission has already been accomplished”. If you look at what the original neoconservative goals from the Bush Administration and outside of the Bush Administration were and what they wanted to accomplish in Iraq they’ve already been accomplished. “A peaceful democratic state in Iraq with a functioning government that can defend itself”. Yes they meaning the Maliki Administration and the Iraqi defense forces lost Northern Iraq. But it was there’s to lose and they were the ones to lose it.

Governing and defending Iraq is not an American responsibility especially if the country is not in danger of going under and being replaced by some type of fringe authoritarian rule. And Iraq doesn’t want us there. It would be one thing if Iraq was being invaded by another power private or another nation and they weren’t in position to defeat that force similar to Britain being under attacked by Nazi Germany during World War II. Then at the request of the Iraqi Government we would then be put into a position of whether we should help them or not.

But that is not the situation in Iraq now. Parts of Northern Iraq are under the control by Islāmic terrorists that seek to create an Islāmic state in Iraq. And it looks like they may be going through the early stages of an Iraqi civil war that the Iraqi people are going to have to figure out for themselves. This is not the business of Americans and our soldiers and our broke taxpayers that one way or the other would have to fund any involvement in Iraq. This is the business of the Iraqi people.

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