Iraq
What We Should Do In Iraq
By Daniel G. Jennings
The best course of action for the United States to take in Iraq is to break that troubled nation up into three separate states Kurd, Shiite and Sunni Arab.
We must adopt such a strategy because it is the only that stands a real chance of success. Creating a workable nation in Iraq without resorting to the kind of terror and oppression practiced by Saddam is impossible. A democratic capitalist Iraq wouldn’t work because the Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis are distinct peoples with different histories and values. The only way Iraq was kept together was by brute force first by the British and then by Saddam his predecessors.
We must acknowledge the fact that Iraq is not a real nation it was an artificial administrative entity created by Winston Churchill back in 1919 so the British could easily administer the region. The British had recently conquered much of the Middle East from the Turks in World War I and wanted control over the strategically important areas. This arrangement worked for 36 years until 1956 because the British were willing to use varying levels of military force to keep Iraq together.
Independent Iraq was ruled by Sunnis who were part of the colonial army created by the British. They were largely professional soldiers, policemen and administrators who had run the region for the Ottoman Turks. The Sunnis maintained their rule and stole most of Iraq’s wealth through brute force.
Attempting to turn Iraq into a liberal democracy is a fool’s errand that will fail and fail miserably. An American colonial regime in Iraq would only work if the United States were willing to resort to brutal oppression which fortunately it is not. Abandoning Iraq is not an option, a power vacuum in Iraq would destabilize the Middle East and lead to more terror attacks on the US and other nations. Nor is internationalization an option, the UN and Europe don’t have a magic wand they can wave to fix Iraq’s problems.
The best option is the one followed in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and the former Soviet Union allow the nation to break into separate states. This process doesn’t have to be a bloody mess of civil war and ethnic cleansing as the case of Czechoslovakia proves. Allowing separate states can end ethnic cleansing and civil war as the case in Yugoslavia proves.
The United States should create three separate states in Iraq, one Sunni, one Shiite and one Kurd. Each should have its own democratic government, army, police administration etc. The US will provide training and other resources to these states. A small force of US planes and troops could be in place to provide peacekeeping and keep the states from attacking each other. Such a strategy is already is already working in Yugoslavia where peacekeepers backed up by airpower keep the states from warring among themselves.
Separate states in Iraq would work because they would give Iraqi soldiers and policemen something real to fight for. No Shiite, Sunni or Kurd is going to fight and die for the fraud known as Iraq. They will fight and die for their people, their faith and their community.
Obviously such a solution wouldn’t be perfect there are some groups in Iraq who want to keep the nation unified. Ironically they’re the ones fighting us the Sunni gangsters who want to go back to the good old days under Saddam when they were rolling in the oil money and the Al Qaeda terrorists who want to set up an Islamic dictatorship.
The good people who want a civil society in Iraq don’t want anything to do with our sham Iraqi democracy because they know it will fail. If we would help these people build workable smaller ethnic based nations to replace Iraq they would get on our side and help us.
Now, Iraq is doomed to break into three separate states the question before us is: will we use our power to make that process peaceful and constructive or will we let it become a hell of terrorism and civil war? The other question is how long will the United States keep trying to do the impossible and build a unified Iraqi democracy?
By Daniel G. Jennings
The best course of action for the United States to take in Iraq is to break that troubled nation up into three separate states Kurd, Shiite and Sunni Arab.
We must adopt such a strategy because it is the only that stands a real chance of success. Creating a workable nation in Iraq without resorting to the kind of terror and oppression practiced by Saddam is impossible. A democratic capitalist Iraq wouldn’t work because the Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis are distinct peoples with different histories and values. The only way Iraq was kept together was by brute force first by the British and then by Saddam his predecessors.
We must acknowledge the fact that Iraq is not a real nation it was an artificial administrative entity created by Winston Churchill back in 1919 so the British could easily administer the region. The British had recently conquered much of the Middle East from the Turks in World War I and wanted control over the strategically important areas. This arrangement worked for 36 years until 1956 because the British were willing to use varying levels of military force to keep Iraq together.
Independent Iraq was ruled by Sunnis who were part of the colonial army created by the British. They were largely professional soldiers, policemen and administrators who had run the region for the Ottoman Turks. The Sunnis maintained their rule and stole most of Iraq’s wealth through brute force.
Attempting to turn Iraq into a liberal democracy is a fool’s errand that will fail and fail miserably. An American colonial regime in Iraq would only work if the United States were willing to resort to brutal oppression which fortunately it is not. Abandoning Iraq is not an option, a power vacuum in Iraq would destabilize the Middle East and lead to more terror attacks on the US and other nations. Nor is internationalization an option, the UN and Europe don’t have a magic wand they can wave to fix Iraq’s problems.
The best option is the one followed in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and the former Soviet Union allow the nation to break into separate states. This process doesn’t have to be a bloody mess of civil war and ethnic cleansing as the case of Czechoslovakia proves. Allowing separate states can end ethnic cleansing and civil war as the case in Yugoslavia proves.
The United States should create three separate states in Iraq, one Sunni, one Shiite and one Kurd. Each should have its own democratic government, army, police administration etc. The US will provide training and other resources to these states. A small force of US planes and troops could be in place to provide peacekeeping and keep the states from attacking each other. Such a strategy is already is already working in Yugoslavia where peacekeepers backed up by airpower keep the states from warring among themselves.
Separate states in Iraq would work because they would give Iraqi soldiers and policemen something real to fight for. No Shiite, Sunni or Kurd is going to fight and die for the fraud known as Iraq. They will fight and die for their people, their faith and their community.
Obviously such a solution wouldn’t be perfect there are some groups in Iraq who want to keep the nation unified. Ironically they’re the ones fighting us the Sunni gangsters who want to go back to the good old days under Saddam when they were rolling in the oil money and the Al Qaeda terrorists who want to set up an Islamic dictatorship.
The good people who want a civil society in Iraq don’t want anything to do with our sham Iraqi democracy because they know it will fail. If we would help these people build workable smaller ethnic based nations to replace Iraq they would get on our side and help us.
Now, Iraq is doomed to break into three separate states the question before us is: will we use our power to make that process peaceful and constructive or will we let it become a hell of terrorism and civil war? The other question is how long will the United States keep trying to do the impossible and build a unified Iraqi democracy?
posted by great one at 9:30 AM
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