I thought this was an excellent piece by Frederick W. Kagan.

The other country between Iran and Syria might be called "MyRaq"

1. Sunni and Shiite MyRaqis simply hate each other and want to kill each other as they have for centuries. Violence in MyRaq cannot be controlled because it is the reflection of irrational hatred.

2. American troops are seen as occupiers in MyRaq. They are the irritant that drives the violence. If only the U.S. withdrew, the MyRaqis would stop killing one another and the war would end.

3. MyRaq must find its own solutions to its problems. Real peace can result only from political accommodations that the MyRaqi leaders have so far been unwilling to make, largely because the presence of American forces has allowed them to duck making the hard calls.

4. MyRaqis are a bunch of welfare queens who won't do anything for themselves as long as Americans are willing to do it for them. If we want the MyRaqis to establish and maintain security, we've got to pull back and force them to do it. We can leave some training teams to help them work better, but MyRaqi Security Forces should be doing all the heavy lifting in the MyBaghdad Security Plan and throughout the country.

5. Problems in MyRaq come from MyRanian (and MySyrian) influence and intervention. MyRan (a fictitious country that deserves a study of its own) is acting out of self-defense in MyRaq, fearful of an overbearing America that refuses to address its legitimate concerns. Diplomatic overtures toward MyRan would reduce MyRanian interference in MyRaq, leading to peace.

7. MyRaq is an artificial country whose boundaries have no meaning to its people. It should be partitioned into three states--MyKurdistan, MySunnistan, and MyShiitestan--which would then be peaceful and stable. After all, MyRaq was divided into three vilayets when under Ottoman control and we all know how stable it was then.

Unfortunately, the problems facing Iraq--and their solutions--are far more complex.

Read the whole article, it is very enlightening.

Posted by Michael at June 6, 2007 12:14 AM