On Dividing Iraq

by Eyck Freymann


[The following post was written as a response to Disciple of Science's article "A Tale of Three Nations".]

Splitting up Iraq will result in Civil War, but they are already engaged in civil war. Hundreds of thousands have been killed and ethnic cleansing is displacing millions.

The borders of present-day Iraq were set by colonial powers with the explicit intent to put disagreeable ethnic groups together. Infighting weakened anti-colonial resistance. Continued: Click "Read More"

So now, the colonies which the European powers divvied up a hundred years ago are actual self-governing states. No wonder there has been so much tension in the Mid-East and Africa over borders. The borders make no sense whatsoever?

The question which I don't pretend to know the answer to is whether Shiite Iraqis identify primarily as Iraqis or primarily as Shiites. If the former is the case, then there is a valid reason for keeping the country in one piece. But it would be ridiculous to keep the Shiites from a homeland if that is what they want. The same goes for the Sunnis and Kurds.

Of course conflicts appear when borders are changed; I understand that. It's true that we don't want to upset Turkey by acknowledging Kurdistan. But there comes a point at which the violence that will result from a split is less acute than the violence happening now because of the bad boundaries. Something has to give.

The Iraqi people should decide what they want to do with their country. The US should oversee the preliminary discussions to make sure that all parties are represented and things are running smoothly. We should then transition out of the region, staying only as a training force for the Iraqi military.

No independent source who has been to Iraq can tell you otherwise: The Iraqi military/police is a joke. There is no accountability, rampant corruption, and no willingness on the part of the people to secure the nation against terrorists. I say this without any anti-Iraqi sentiments: the Iraqis aren't doing anything; they're letting the Americans risk their lives for them.

This is unacceptable. We shouldn't continue to run their country for them; they're perfectly capable of managing it themselves. The US Military should let the Iraqi security forces go about their business without complete reliance on America. Otherwise our soldiers will keep dying, our economy will keep diving, and we'll stay in Iraq for a million years. That's not strategy, that's suicide. Let's start taking this seriously.