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Kurds: Iraq Must Be Divided Ronald Kessler The only way to prevent Iraq from disintegrating is to divide it up and create a federation, Qubad Talabani, the U.S. representative of the Kurdistan government, tells NewsMax. "It's impossible for us to have a strong, centralized Iraq, ever again," says Talabani, the son of Iraq President Jalal Talabani. "Those days are over. The mistrust is too great for there to be a centralized authority ruling the country." At least in part, he says, the solution is to "acknowledge the desire of many Iraqis" to live within a federation where economic and political power devolves from the central government. Talabani cites the success of the Kurdistan region, which has its own government and its own security services, yet is part of Iraq. In fact, Talabani says, "Iraq's diversity, if managed well, could be its strength; but if not managed well, could destroy the country. And to date, it has not been managed well — by the Iraqis, by the coalition, by the Americans." Divided We Stand Talabani sees a break up as inevitable. "Baghdad will probably end up as its own federal region," Talabani says. "I can't see there being three states in Iraq. I think there will probably be four, or possibly even five regions for the country. But the final outcome, the final number of regions is not as important as the process."
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A graduate of James Madison University in Virginia, Talabani has represented the Kurdish regional government in Washington since February. He previously represented the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a leading Kurdish political party responsible for administering the eastern part of Kurdistan. Talabani often meets in Washington with U.S. leaders, including President Bush. Talabani has found that the U.S. is still reluctant to recognize the fact that Shiias and Sunnis have major political differences. "They do not trust each other, but they've been lumped together in a country and been told that they have to be ruled because everyone is Iraqi, and to set aside their ethnic and sectarian differences," he says. "That is "unrealistic," He adds flatly. As Talabani sees it, "Going to war and liberating Iraq from Saddam's regime was the right move. It removed a ruthless regime, a threat to the region, a threat to its own people and ultimately a threat to peace in Europe and the United States. It was," he says, "the morally right decision; it was the politically right decision; and it was certainly the right decision from an American national security standpoint." However, he says, "The management of the postwar period is where I think history will not be so kind. And I think the largest mistake was ultimately owning the process. Iraq should have been led and ruled by Iraqis from day one, and not by the Iraq Provisional Authority or an American official."
U.S. Blamed for All Mistakes Running the country meant the U.S. was seen as an occupying force and was blamed for everything that went wrong. While Talabani doesn't believe polls saying as many as 80 percent of Iraqis want Americans to leave, he says the initial U.S. control of Iraq stirred up resentment. Some U.S. officials opposed that approach, but Bush decided to have "an American-run Iraq," Talabani says. Even with the right approach, Iraq could still have been in the mess it is in today, but the Americanization of the effort clearly undercut progress, Talabani points out. At the same time, the idea of breaking up Iraq became a sign of failure. "The U.S. government wants the perception that Iraq is a unified country," Talabani says. "They don't want to upset the region; they don't want to show that it's kind of breaking apart or fragmenting. But the reality is, Iraq today is, by and large, fragmented. And by putting in place a mechanism, a system of governance, you're actually going to be saving Iraq." Talabani has made these points to Bush and other government leaders, so far without success. Meanwhile, congressional efforts to bring troops home early is having a negative impact on the ground. Most Iraqis "understand American impatience. We value the sacrifice of Americans; we know that this sacrifice cannot be never-ending," he says. "But at the same time, the show of a wavering of the United States' commitment to Iraq is making everybody in the country very nervous. And when people are nervous, they'll undoubtedly make the wrong decisions There's going to be a lot of jockeying for power. There's going to be a lot of maneuvering and a lot of people preparing for a post-America Iraq." Already, Talabani says, "People are starting to hedge their bets; people are planning on who they're going to partner with, who they're going to team up with, and how they can secure themselves. Because ultimately that's what they do to defend themselves." Nor should Iraq be viewed in isolation. "This is not about just Iraq," Talabani notes. "Iraq is connected to many countries in that region, powerful countries, countries that are problematic for the United States, or problematic for the Middle East; and that's why I think that the get-out-of-Iraq movement is too focused on Iraq and not on the ramifications that this could have for other parts of the Middle East." Stability Found in Security If the United States pulls out, "It will probably lead to the collapse of the government in Iraq," Talabani states. "I think it will lead to al-Qaida being able to manipulate the instability and insecurity even more than it's doing already. It will be not only a major foreign policy debacle for the United States but it will be a disaster for your allies in the region; none more so than the Kurds, who are pro-American and pro-Western and do believe in democratic values and principles, and who have over the last 15 years built up something that Americans can be proud of." For all the problems and setbacks, Talabani thinks Bush will eventually be seen as a great president. "President Bush is a president that led his country in very difficult times, and has obviously taken a decision that right now may appear unpopular, but I think history will say that he made the right decision," Talabani says.
Ronald Kessler is chief Washington correspondent of NewsMax.com. View his previous reports and get his dispatches sent to you free via e-mail. Go here now.
© NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved.
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