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The Last Chance For A Unified Iraq

Jan 16, 2007

By: Dr.Nazhad Khasraw Hawramany
Switzerland

At last President Bush announced his new strategy about the  new course of action in Iraq, Mr Bush is risking the political future of his administration when he decided a final push to save the united Iraq, by sending 20\000 more troops to Iraq to clear Baghdad from Sunni insurgents and Shiite militiamen. He is under immense pressure from the Democrats and large sections of American public weary of the lack of progress in Iraq. No doubt that the Democrats  who are controlling both Houses now are pressurising the president Bush to reduce his commitment to Iraqi people and withdraw troops from Iraq as soon as possible, after all the Iraqi liberation would never have happened under a Democratic administration ( remember the no action strategy of Bill Clinton).

There is no doubt that the president have chosen to ignore the recommendations of the infamous Baker-Hamilton Report ( at least for the time being) and he is acting on a borrowed time facing the immense pressure from people who unfortunately does not seem to understand his global war on terrorism even after the 9\11 terrorist attack on WTC.

The sectarian violence in Iraq have reached new levels, and large sections of Baghdad experiences sectarian cleansing perpetrated by both Shiites and Sunnis alike, and it seems very unlikely that these two communities could ever live together, making the prospects of a wide scale civil war and disintegration of Iraq as a unified state a real prospect, taking into considerations that the Kurds cannot stay for ever committed to a unified Iraq which is declining into civil war.

I have heard many analysts and commentators recently stressing the point that this final Push might be the last chance to keep Iraq under a unified government, meaning that if this last ditch effort to end instability and sectarian violence failed, then the President Bush have no alternative other than pulling troops out of Iraq and leaving Iraq to its destiny of civil war and disintegration into three states, Kurdistan in the north, Shiites in south and central Iraq and Sunnis in West Iraq, which in itself might eventually be the best way to bring stability and peace between those communities if they reached an understanding about distribution of oil wealth,  if the Americans made sure  at least that the neighbouring countries will not be involved directly in the conflict in Iraq.

One could say that the coming few months will be decisive for the future of a unified Iraq. The political leadership of all factions are bound to show if they are up to this task.

 

 


 

 

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