Federalism Plan Dead, Says Iraqi Official

Washington Post ^ | September 13 2006 | Amit R. Paley and K.I. Ibrahim

[jmc1969]

The speaker of the Iraqi parliament said Tuesday that a controversial plan to partition the country into three autonomous regions is politically dead.

Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said in an interview that legislation to implement a concept known as federalism, which threatened to collapse the country's fragile multi-sect government, would likely be postponed indefinitely after a meeting of political leaders on Wednesday.

The federalism plan would create a Shiite region in southern Iraq much like the autonomous zone in the north controlled by the Kurds. Sunnis have generally opposed the plan, on grounds that it would leave them only with vast swaths of desert in the country's middle, devoid of the oil reserves in the other regions.

The constitution that Iraq adopted last fall allows for a form of federalism. Sunni parties supported the charter only reluctantly and joined the current government on condition of a resumption of federalism discussions, in which they hoped to kill the concept.

"If federalism is to be applied now, it will lead to the secession of the south and the establishment of an Islamist extremist state in the center of the country," said Mashhadani, an outspoken Sunni Arab who is the third-ranking official in the government. "It is not possible to venture or to start the application of federalism now."

"Look, Iraqi blood is more important than federalism," he said.

[Darkwolf377]

Quagmire! Oh, wait...

[gcruse]

If the Kurds don't get autonomy, the country will devolve into civil war.

[Darkwolf377]

I'm reminded of the predictions of a humanitarian disaster when we invaded, 5000 dead in the taking of Baghdad alone, and a civil war as soon as Saddam fell.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Sunnis have generally opposed the plan, on grounds that it would leave them only with vast swaths of desert in the country's middle, devoid of the oil reserves in the other regions.

I say, turn lemons into lemonade! I'm sure there is a need for pipelines to transport the oil produced in the north and south.

[stainlessbanner]

bttt

[pankot]

Iraq was cobbled together by idiot diplomats (just like Yugoslavia) from 3 different regions. Only a murderous dictator (like Tito, Sadaam) could hold such an abortion together. The solutions is to slice it up into 3 autonomous regions: Kurd, Sunni, and Shia. Diplomats are idiots who by default gave us 9/11; Like Madam Alldumb, Sandy Burglar, and the Toon. Watch the ABC movie closely and you'll see the truth they tried to censor.

[Chicos_Bail_Bonds]

Joe Biden won't be happy.

[ChessExpert]

"Federalism Plan Dead, Says Iraqi Official"

Is he talking about the United States?

[submarinerswife]

Joe Biden is deeply saddened.

[theBuckwheat]

But this was the Great Hope of the Democrats, the US Democrats, who strangely thought they would 'advance' democracy for forcing Iraq to change the constiution that the entire country endorsed.

[CZB]

"...If the Kurds don't get autonomy, the country will devolve into civil war...."

Depends on what you mean by autonomy. I think what the Kurds want more than anything else is for the US to remain engaged. They'll horse trade because they understand that a variation on Iraq that opens the Shi'ite south to Iranian incursion (Kuwait's biggest fear) will eventually threaten the north too. The Kurds know the US/UK is playing a difficult balancing game and just don't want to be betrayed as Kissinger once betrayed them.

What the US oughta do is build a massive base in the Kurdish area with all weapons platforms pointed at Iran and get the cold war on full bore. Just stare down the Mullahs and their mouthpiece. The Kurds can make themselves a linchpin in the likeness of Taiwan, South Korea or even (and ironically) Israel. Continued US presence IS autonomy for the Kurds. Likewise, they are the sharpest cookies in the package there and the closer we stick by them the better we'll do long term. Like Bogie says, "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Captain's Quarters weigns in on this and says Sistani should get some credit:

September 13, 2006
Sistani Kills Federalism Plan

***********************AN EXCERPT **********************************

In a move that belies earlier reports that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani had withdrawn from Iraqi politics, the widely respected Shi'ite imam scotched a plan by Shi'ite political groups to transform Iraq into a loosely-knit federation of three autonomous states. The Shi'ite-controlled legislature will table the proposal indefinitely, and the third-ranking official in the government pronounced the plan dead:

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The concluding paragraphs.......

***************************

Sistani does not want to see Iran prevail and squash the recently-freed Najaf version of Shi'ism, and he doesn't want to see his rival Moqtada al-Sadr rise to the top of a new regional political structure. Sistani knows that the only hope for his moderate brand of Shi'ism to survive and to flourish is to support the secular and democratic government that holds the entire nation together as one. Only by combining resources can the nation see its way towards a modern and moderate polity, and only that will allow Iraqis to control all of their own resources and exploit them for their own benefit.

Sistani's back in the game -- and I doubt he ever really left.

Posted by Captain Ed at September 13, 2006 05:35 AM

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[Marine_Uncle]

Thanks E. I had a feeling the idea would not go to far. In principle it may sound appealing on a few issues one can make good arguments for but it would not be good from the view point the US takes, being a strong stabilized secular operated unity government where Iraq will in the future become the industrial giant of the ME, military stabilizer, and a perhaps NATO partner.
Once you bust up the country as suggested, the above would go down the drain. Iraq has to much oil to allow it to just split apart. Oil companies as well as many other industries that eventually will go full hilt into Iraq have to be given assurances that it will be a stable country that will not bankrupt any large business ventures these companies would undertake.
With future developments on those vast northern oil fields pipelining it's oil into the Ramadi Oil fields in the south then unward into the refineries and export terminals, Iraq will eventually become a wealthy nation. And I am certaint many a Iraqi politician along with their power brokers all realize splitting the country up would prevent any of the three sectors to have a truely autonomous, safe environment. Why have three pieces of the pie always in competition when one can realize far better profit margins in the oil sector by keeping all resources under roof.
The old adage "divided we fall, united we stand" really can apply in principle to what the new Iraq needs for future development, IMHO.