America ponders cutting Iraq in three

[cal04]

AN independent commission set up by Congress with the approval of President George W Bush may recommend carving up Iraq into three highly autonomous regions, according to well informed sources.

The Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by James Baker, the former US secretary of state, is preparing to report after next month’s congressional elections amid signs that sectarian violence and attacks on coalition forces are spiralling out of control. The conflict is claiming the lives of 100 civilians a day and bombings have reached record levels.

The Baker commission has grown increasingly interested in the idea of splitting the Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish regions of Iraq as the only alternative to what Baker calls “cutting and running” or “staying the course”.

“The Kurds already effectively have their own area,” said a source close to the group. “The federalisation of Iraq is going to take place one way or another. The challenge for the Iraqis is how to work that through.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2393750,00.html

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Mmmm..... would it be cheaper to have bases in

one country.... or in three?? Let me do the math...

[Botany]

2. Welcome to

Kurdistan, Shistan, and Sunnistan

Kurdistan ..... sitting on oil & a major target for Turkey, Iran, and Shi ites,
Shistan ...... sitting on oil .... radical fundy Islamic theocracy aligned w/ Iran
and a terrorist breeding ground.
Sunnistan ..... no oil and pissed off .... much of the former Iraqi army and
power structure

Iraqi educated class ..... (Drs., teachers, bankers, legal, etc) they are the hell out of
there.

Guess the PNAC dream of a pro western, democratic, and stable building block
for a new mideast is gone.

BTW Where is bin Laden?

[napi21]

4. From what I've heard, you have missed one piece of the proposal.

Three independant sections, but ONE central rule over the OIL. Profits equally distributed between the three. Isn't that much like what the US is like? Independant states with one Federal gov't?

[Botany]

6. That would be nice but I doubt that the Kurds & Shi will

"really" split oil $ w/ the Sunni.

[napi21]

11. I honestly think a deal could be worked out. Don't you believe

all the people of Iraq are very tired of warring and killing after so very many years? I believe most people, no matter where they are, just want to live their life in some sort of peaceful environment. I truely believe some sort of agreement could be reached to bring relative peace to all of Iraq.

[Botany]

7. dupe

[Xipe Totec]

3. Iraq is not a cake

and besides, we don't own it.

What the hell do they mean by "America ponders cutting Iraq"?

What unbelievable arrogance!

[LynnTheDem]

21. And ignorance (not to mention the total illegality of it)

But my God the arrogance is fucking staggering, isn't it.

[Thickasabrick]

26. I was thinking the exact same thing. No wonder they hate us

so much. Only good thing is that it would take much longer than 2 years to pull this off - Darth Cheney and the Chimp will be gone by then.

[DarkmoonIkonoklast]

38. ... assuming "THEY" don't find an excuse for Martial Law...

   ... which "THEY" could do under a State of Emergency...
   ... which could be declared after the next "terrorist attack on America"...
   ... which could happen as soon as the Inauguration of the newly-minted Democratic Congresscritters...
   ... but of course, only a paranoid would actually consider such an horrendous sequence of events as possible; surely no American President would actually commit such an impeachable act!

[PerceptionManagement]

29. agreed. Lets cut up the republican party into small little pieces and let

Iraq figure out what to do with Iraq. Besides, Iran will just take over anyway. Why waste any more American lives? Two wrongs don't make a right. Let's get out. Let some Saddam POS wanna-be will float to the top again. Paul Hackett (sp?) is right. We've done all we can militarily. The longer we stay the more ChimpCo will f**k it up. Sorry to say it, but the GOP is simply just incompetent.

[katsy]

5. One of our guys recommended that!

I just can't remember who.

[Botany]

9. Joe Biden?

I think

[katsy]

14. Yeah, & he was ridiculed...

now they get a panel to discuss it.

[wisteria]

34. Yeah, and Bush dismissed it outright.

I can't believe I am saying this, but I agree with Bush more than Biden on this division of Iraq. I think we will still see violence between the Shites and the Sunni's even if the oil is split evenly between all three groups.

[nradisic]

8. A Federation? Ha!

I am Serbian....The former Yugoslavia was a Federation. Look how that ended. There is no simple way to solve Iraq now. Like Colin Powell said " You brake it, You own it." Now we're fucked. No easy way out, thanks to the Shrub.

[Penance]

24. Federations aren't always bad

It worked quite well for Chechoslovakia after Prague Spring and it much more easily facilitated the eventual breakup of the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Then again, the Czechs and Slovaks never hated each other to much of a degree and didn't try to ethnically cleanse their respective territories before or after their separate ways.

[BattyDem]

10. What right do we have to cut someone else's country into pieces?

:shrug:

[napi21]

12. The same stupid right that England had in putting the three

segments together! It had no chance of success then! Itotally agree with the three separate sectionswith a common federal control of the oil profits. Very similar to the US, if you think about it.

[BattyDem]

13. Good idea or not ... I don't think it's our decision to make

It's bad enough that we went in and destroyed their country, then tried to force our form of government on them. Now we're going to tell them how to divvy their country up? That kind of arrogance is what got us into this mess in the first place.

[napi21]

16. I agreeitWAS not our place to be there at all, but I think we owe it

to the Iraqi's to at least make the possible suggestion! If they hate the idea, it won't work anyway, but I really think it''s worth a try.

[BattyDem]

18. I have no problem with making the suggestion ...

but we know how BushCo operates. They'll "suggest" a three-way split ... while our planes fly overhead, loaded with bombs.

This is such a disaster! :-(

[ConcernedCanuk]

15. The WORLD ponders cutting the USA into 50 pieces - how about that!!

.
.
.

50 countries instead of 50 states, and y'all can keep your own taxes!

Can you imagine how much $$ y'all would have if you weren't spending hundreds of billions a year on that hateful war-machine?

Ya might have a few bucks left over for health care and silly stuff like that . .

And Mexico and Canada are not aggressive countries - so y'all have not much worries about your neighbours

Seems like your main enemy is your own Government . . .

hmmmmmm

[napi21]

17. Crazy at that sounds, it could work!

That way, each State could make their own laws, and if you didn't like it there, you move to a State where you do like the laws. Let the RW have their states, and let theblue states have theirs! Guess what? The RW will be the ones to suffer! The blue states pay far more into the Feds in taxes than what they get in return, as opposed o the red states paying far less and getting a lot more $$ from the Feds.

Although I currently live in a red state (Ga.), I'm willing to more tomorrow!!!!!!

[BattyDem]

19. I still like this idea:

We blue-staters would be more than happy to help all you sane red-staters relocate to the U.S. of C. B-)

[demo dutch]

39. Heh I don't want to live in Jesus land! There are parts of Florida

that are very blue!!! I live that there with "my Peeps"

[IndianaGreen]

25. Excellent idea!

In one swift stroke, our state's national guard will become our army, and they will be recalled back to defend our new sovereign borders. Iraq will no longer be our problem, and neither will be George Bush and his tyrannical regime.

[ConcernedCanuk]

27. The wonders of a simple Canuk mind, eh?

.
.
.

Of course, we've been living beside you forever,

And yeah, we are watching. . . .

And not impressed

[coalition_unwilling]

43. Canada please liberate us! (We apologize for all the moose jokes!)

[LynnTheDem]

20. The level of American ARROGANCE is breath-taking.

Just fucking unbelievable.

Forget the FACT that would be a total violation of the Geneva Convention; America shat on the GCs long ago; but how's that ethnic cleansing going to work? That'll make Saddam look like a choirboy and then some.

Far too many Americans are stupid, arrogant, ignorant idiots.

Fucking unbelievable.

[TexasLawyer]

23. Turkey

Also this would be unacceptable to Turkey. Militant Kurds growing rich and powerful on Kirkuk oil money right on Turkey's border. It's already happening, but this would hasten the process and give the Kurds even greater autonomy.

And this is not to mention the autonomous mini-Iran that would be created in Shiite-land.

Can we just bring back Saddam? (says TexasLawyer half-seriously) Really-- the decision to force regime change in Iraq is the true disaster that we all expected it to be.

[daleo]

28. It probably violates the U.N. charter as well

For a foreign country to kick around ideas about how to re-construct other states (or de-construct them) is reminiscent of the Soviet era, or the British Empire.

[IndianaGreen]

22. We are still back to the OIL!

It is up to the Iraqis, not their crusading occupiers, to determine their destiny.

[0007]

30. We're so screwed......the opium dens will be our only escape

from this insanity.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

31. Why not? Dividing Palestine up certainly had great results.

:eyes:

[stepnw1f]

32. America Will Not Be Cutting Anything

They will be watching as bench warmers do on the side line. America has no control over Iraq.... it's laughable to even suggest that the US can cut Iraq into three when there isn't even an Iraq anymore! Funny thing is, it seems division is the only thing this GOP and Bush Cabal knows how to do so well....

[wisteria]

33. Just because they are divided doesn't mean they aren't going to

cross boarders and attack one another. I fail to see how this will work. I wouldn't consider this an alternative as much as another possibility. Oh, and Baker needs to knock off the C&R comments. No one is suggesting that.

[bhikkhu]

35. White House ponders redrawing all national borders

in the interests of peace and the maintenance of a republican majority.

[AlienGirl]

36. Omnia Gallia dividida est in tres partes...

Actually, this might be a good plan, if the people want it.

Tucker

[nolabels]

37. There has got to be somebody that knows a little history here

Wasn't that the whole reason the British made the borders of Iraq in the first place, the ole 'Divide and conquer', like duh already.
The only problem is wouldn't you have to victorious in the occupation of the country first :think:

[zreosumgame]

40. So that will make 4 new Colonies dumbaya has 'built'?

[Copperred]

41. 100% AGREE - PARTITION IRAQ TODAY

This is absoultely the right way to a secure peace in "Iraq".

The country was devised as such by the British with no care for the wishes of the People. It would show leadership as well on the part of the US to all groups who are seeking freedom in other oppressed countries (Iran, Pakistan, etc).

[coalition_unwilling]

42. Iraq ponders cutting US in two (blue vs red) - n/t