OK Lets Vote - Iraq

[Roamy]

There are many who say the only way to stop the violence is to divide the country into 3 states Kurds, Sunni, and shhite.

I will bite - I support that

[Gannex]

Me too. I've long been for the three-state solution. The problem is our friends the Turks. They will not countenance a Kurdish state on their border, so that little problem has to be finessed somehow. And what to do with the Shiites of Baghdad, and the Sunnis in the South? Forcibly move them?

[bowler]

berlin again? That worked?

Indian partition? That worked?

I don't have a solution, but partitioning areas hasn't worked historically

[BrentJackson]

That's my solution too Fousto. I don't see any other way to solve this crap.

Besides, the Kurds are actually doing alright. Democracy has taken hold there, and terrorist attacks are very rare. No US guys have been killed there since 2003 too.

As for the Turks, it's pretty simple - their borders haven't changed, so why do they care? Same with the Iranians.

[Tomi]

I dont support, because it wont work.

[Eki]

As for the Turks, it's pretty simple - their borders haven't changed, so why do they care? Same with the Iranians.
Because they have Kurdish terrorists/freedom fighters (take your pick) themselves who also want independence. They see an independent Kurdish nation in Iraq as a dangerous precedence and an independent Kurdish nation could also give a good launching pad for the Iranian and Turkish Kurd terrorists/freedom fighters to launch their attacks.

[janneppi]

It would be difficult to accomplish properly.
-You need a clear borders that won't be contested
-Relocation of splinter groups
-Relocation of two-three million refugees to their respective zones
-natural resources need to be divided somewhat fairly
-Turkey's position needs to be protected
-etc

If those can be solved, why not.

Would the Turkomans and Assyrians also get their own areas or would they be divided into Chistian and Muslims who also would need a solution? :)

[courageous]

berlin again? That worked?

Indian partition? That worked?


Throw Ireland & in some respects Israel in to the list of failed examples as well of course.


Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it - there is only 1 solutioun, stop interfering in the internal politics of a soverign nation.

[akv89]

Breaking things up is just a quick fix. It just creates more nations that can wage war on each other in the future.

[A.F.F.]

I support making whole of Iraq a parking place and the people would all go to Sweden since they love to support so much refugees.

[Daniel]

I support making whole of Iraq a parking place and the people would all go to Sweden since they love to support so much refugees.
Yes. Good idea. Don't send them to Finland ;) Too many racist social workers there ;)

[fandango]

There are many who say the only way to stop the violence is to divide the country into 3 states Kurds, Sunni, and shhite.

I will bite - I support that

Only solution? What about aiding a dictator to terrorise everyone into behaving and keep a lid on things? One who will also bite?

[Curryhead]

I don't have a solution, but I don't think division is the answer, I guess there are years of talks to come before peace is gained there :(

[Eki]

Besides, the Kurds are actually doing alright. Democracy has taken hold there, and terrorist attacks are very rare. No US guys have been killed there since 2003 too.
I don't know about "very rare":

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/04/22/iraq.main.ap/index.html

Police: Gunmen line up, execute 23 Kurds in Mosul
POSTED: 12:44 p.m. EDT, April 22, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Gunmen in northern Iraq stopped a bus filled with Christians and members of a tiny Kurdish religious sect, separating out the groups and taking 23 of the passengers away to be shot.

The executions came on the same day that two suicide car bombers targeted a police station in western Baghdad, killing 13.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, on a tour abroad to ask the mostly Sunni-led governments of the Arab world to help his struggling government stop the violence in Iraq, said he told Egypt's president that Iraq's reality is "not a civil or sectarian war."

Armed men in several cars stopped the bus Sunday afternoon as it was carrying workers from the Mosul Textile Factory to their hometown of Bashika, which has a mixed population of Christians and Yazidis -- a primarily Kurdish sect that worships an angel considered to be the devil by some Muslims and Christians.

The gunmen checked passengers' identification cards, then asked all Christians to get off the bus, said police Brig. Mohammed al-Wagga.

With the Yazidis still inside, the gunmen drove them to eastern Mosul, where they were lined up along a wall and shot to death, al-Wagga said.

[tony_yeboah]

bomb the place, or get out.

Finish it, or quit.

personally, i think they should just sod off and leave the locals to it

[Eki]

personally, i think they should just sod off and leave the locals to it
Yes, unless they know what they're doing, which I doubt. If you try to fix something without knowing what you're doing, you may end up making things worse than they were.

[tony_yeboah]

Yes, unless they know what they're doing, which I doubt. If you try to fix something without knowing what you're doing, you may end up making things worse than they were.

but at least it wont be british soldiers dying. What goes on in Iraq has nothing to do with this country, our people should not be dying for a cuase which does not effect us

[Eki]

but at least it wont be british soldiers dying. What goes on in Iraq has nothing to do with this country, our people should not be dying for a cuase which does not effect us
That's what I meant. The locals probably know better what they want than the British (or American) soldiers.

[tony_yeboah]

That's what I meant. The locals probably know better what they want than the British (or American) soldiers.

oh right ok, in that case i agree with you :)

[BDunnell]

but at least it wont be british soldiers dying. What goes on in Iraq has nothing to do with this country, our people should not be dying for a cuase which does not effect us

While I was and am opposed to the war, I don't like that view. There are occasions that have nothing directly to do with us, but when we have to act. These may not involve going to war — the humanitarian situation in Darfur has little direct influence on our lives, but it is right for the rest of the world to seek to do something about it. We cannot be totally insular.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Darfur..oh ya, that little problem. I notice the UN isn't rushing in there are they? See, the UN is useless in these cases.

As for the idea of three separate states, I was against it before the US/UK coalition went in, I still don't think it will work. If you cant get all three parties to get along under the same roof for a common nation, I suspect the three separate will be at war in some form. Maybe the Kurd's would be able to not have to deal with the other two, but they would have pressure from the Turk's and Iranians, who both see Kurdistan as a bad idea. As for the Sunni's and Shiites, there seems to be some need to go at each other, and I think it is exacerbated by the outside influences of Iran and Al Quaida, who both have a vested interest in keeping this terror campaign going. The Iranians would love to get their hands on the Shiite parts of the country, and the Sunni's are basically used to running the nation, and Al Quaida is backing them, with the additional goal of killing Americans. No, I don't think the conditions are right for a tri-state. The other factor is the oil. Who would get the most oil out of Iraq being split 3 ways? Whatever side felt cheated would have yet another reason. No, they have to find a way to get along somehow, although I will agree it seems unlikely. At some point, they may reach a point where they think this is pointless and give it up...just not sure we may see that any time soon.