Op-Ed Commentary

 

 

Scott Sullivan :
Break Up Iraq -- Why Not Palestine?

Iraq's moment of truth is fast approaching. Will Iraq remain one unitary
state or break up into two or more states, as preferred by the Kurds, Iran,
and the US. Breaking up Iraq is easy. All Baghdad has to do is fail to
pass the Iraqi petroleum law and move ahead with the December 2007 Kirkuk
referendum on status that would effectively award Kirkuk to "Kurdisatan."

Simple as pie, as Americans like to say.

However, breaking up Iraq into two or more states carries enormous downside
risks, most of which have been analyzed and acknowledged. Here is one
downside risk that has not yet received attention -- i.e. the risk that the
Iraq two state model will be applied to other states including Palestine
even Kurdistan itself.

It is self-evident that Hamas and the PLO cannot live under the same roof.
The more these two armed factions are forced to share power, the more they
fight. This is not only because of leadership disagreements. The Hamas-PLO
conflict emerges because it is being prompted by outside states and
terrorist groups. Iran and the Sunni fundamentalists back Hamas, while
Syria, the Sunni states, and Russia back, as always, back the PLO.

What is the answer? To borrow from Jonathan Swift, here is a Modest
Proposal. Award the Gaza strip to Hamas, where is Hamas is strong, and the
West Bank to the PLO, where the PLO is strong. Everybody is happy, right?

How about Kurdistan? Jalal Talabani and Barzani get along about as well as
the Hamas and PLO leadership, and have resorted to arms to settle
differences in the past. They will no doubt turn on one another as
Kurdistan moves toward independence. Talabani and Barzani will fight over
Kirkuk, among other issues.

What to do? Why not award full self determination to a Kurdish Talabanistan
and Barzanistan? Each would possess its own military establishment, foreign
policy, and oil ministry. Each mini-state would be free to seek allies
against the other, and accept weapons and military advisors.

In brief, this two state scenario would soon become the highway to Perdition
for the Kurds, as well as the Iraqis and Palestinians. The reality is that
not every ethnic group, or each political faction within the same ethnic
group, as with the Palestinians and the Kurds, has the right to its own
state. Someone, somewhere, has to draw the line against new states. Why
not draw the line in Iraq, against the Kurds?

Scott Sullivan is a former Washington government employee. Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views.

Fair use Notice: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues of environmental and humanitarian significance. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.

All works published by Petroleumworld are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Petroleumworld has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Petroleumworld endorsed or sponsored by the originator. Petroleumworld encourages persons to reproduce, reprint, or broadcast Petroleumworld articles provided that any such reproduction identify the original source, http://www.petroleumworld.com or else and it is done within the fair use as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Internet web links to http://www.petroleumworld.com are appreciated.

Petroleumworld News 02/06/07

Copyright© 2006 Scott Sullivan. All rights reserved.

 

Send this story to a friend

Your feedback is important to us!

We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.

Write to editor@petroleumworld.com

Any question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com

Best Viewed with IE 5.01+
Windows NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels