WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (UPI) Feedback from Iraq's Sunnis and Shiites on a federal
structure has been mixed, the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative in
Washington said Friday.
Shiites largely support it, Qubad Jalal Talabani told United Press International
in an interview Friday. The Sunnis are largely against because of the oil
issue.Talabany said, however, that there were splits even within the Shiite and
Sunni populations on the issue, however.
Among the Shiites, the backers of Moqtada al-Sadr oppose federalism while those
of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq support it; Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki is in the middle. And some Sunnis are now realizing that
federalism may be the way to go.
The Kurds actively back a federal Iraq because they have enjoyed autonomy and
relative prosperity ever since the first Gulf War. A federal structure will also
give the Kurdistan Regional Government a greater say in negotiations over the
sharing of oil revenue - a key sticking point in discussions among the three
sides.
The Kurds remain willing to participate in Iraqi state building but reluctant to
surrender any of the gains in autonomy they have achieved, said unclassified
portions of key judgments of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate released
Friday. The Kurds and Shiites control the bulk of Iraq's 115 billion barrels of
proven reserves
