America ponders cutting Iraq in three

The Sunday Times ^ | October 08, 2006 | Sarah Baxter

[Poincare]

Turkey's going to be hating this.

Yep. And that's why the US hasn't given the Kurds full autonomy. I suppose if US-Turkey relations deteriorate enough we might...

Imagine all the Dims (MSM) jumping on Bush for "betraying" our NATO ally Turkey.

[Bigh4u2]

Just more speculation from the Times about what the President and Congress 'may' do.

Tripe.

[Miss Marple]

Honestly, I wondered why we didn't go for federalization when we conquered Iraq. I thought it the most practical way to do things. Oil revenue could be divided according to population, and each area could have their own laws. Explaining it to the Iraqis would be easy, as everyone in the world knows Texas, and no one thinks Texas is humiliated.

I blame the State Department for not using this idea.

[gorush]

I agree, great idea. But then I also support breaking this country up into two.

[Wormwood]

I blame the State Department for not using this idea.

Really? I put the blame squarely at the feet of the Commander-in-Chief. That is where the buck stops, after all.

[Gradient Vector]

"Imagine all the Dims (MSM) jumping on Bush for "betraying" our NATO ally Turkey."

Turkeys been our ally for a long time, why should be betray them.

[Miss Marple]

Well, yes, President Bush must share some of the blame. But I think the idea originated in the State Department.

[Killborn]

A solution looking for a problem. Kill all the terrs then everything else can work out diplomatically. The majority of the violence stems from Al Qaeda, Syria, and Iran. Contrary to popular belief, the problem is not sectarian or ethnic. Iraq is being invaded.

[Rome2000]

"A bad peace is even worse than war."
-- Tacitus

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Iraq needs a Muslim king friendly to the West. If it doesn't happen we will see a secular or religious dictator rise up as soon as we leave. Different cultures require different forms of government. The Middle East has always respected strong leaders. Democracy (sharing) is not strength but an opportunity for a powerful individual, good or bad.

[GSlob]

Nah... three-step solution:
1. depopulate Mid-East;
2. re-name it Mid-West;
3. re-settle it with midwesterners.

[oilfieldtrash]

Why dont the Serbs in Bosnia and Kosovo get to do the same?

[MrLee]

Turkey doesn't want an independant Kurdish nation on their border, if I remember right.

[When do we get liberated?]

On the surface this may seem like a last ditch effort to get out of there, but I think it has merit. Iraq has always been a country fractured by ethnic and religious differences. The real problem comes with oil profit distribution, most of it would end up with the Shiites in the center and south of the country. If we are speaking of truely autonomous areas then the oil-rich are not likely to share with the oil poor.
The Kurdish section of Iraq is nearly autonomous and has been spared much of the strife that the sunni areas have been through. The difference is that an autonomous Kurdistan may be inclined to strike at, or at least render itself as an infernal nuisance to Turkey. (Full of kooks like the rest of the neighborhood, but at least they are secular.)
In a single source economy like Iraq, anouther question is who gets the ports and major roads that the oil must flow through? If Shiitestan and Sunnistan are at odds, can one strangle the other?

[Poincare]

Turkeys been our ally for a long time, why should be betray them.[?]

The Turks have long brutally suppressed Kurdish nationalism and a Kurdish state on their border is one thing they don't want.

[Nuc1]

At the rate things are going this country may do it for you. On the other hand the people of the left must be in total control. They cannot stand people being free. However, many of the liberal strong holds are targets for the muzzies. Since the libs won't fight them now the muzzies may take care of much of the problem before the libs come around to seeing things our way.;)

[Gradient Vector]

"The Turks have long brutally suppressed Kurdish nationalism and a Kurdish state on their border is one thing they don't want."

Exactly because that Kurdish state would fight Turkey for land Turkey currently has. Why should we do that to our allies? Even now before a state, communist Kurdish groups are committing terrorism across the Iraq/Turkey border.