Sunnis reject Shiite proposal for federal Iraq

[sabra]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/stories/081305dnintiraqrdp.6735898b.html

Sunnis reject Shiite proposal for federal Iraq


Associated Press


BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni Arab leaders on Friday rejected calls for a Shiite federal region to be enshrined in the constitution, saying the proposal would fracture Iraq along religious and ethnic lines. The dispute threatens to delay completion of the charter by a Monday deadline.

Sunni Arab leaders were responding to a demand by a leading Shiite lawmaker for provisions to allow local Shiite control in the southern and central parts of the country. Sunni Arabs fear they will lose out on oil revenues if the country is split into federated zones.

"We reject it wherever it is, whether in the north or in the south, but we accept the Kurdish region as it was before the war," said Kamal Hamdoun, a Sunni member of the committee drafting the constitution. Some Shiite leaders want to replicate the success of Kurdish leaders in the north who govern an autonomous part of the country.

"The aim of federalism is to divide Iraq into ethnic and sectarian areas. We will cling to our stance of rejecting this," Hamdoun said.

[iconoclastic cat]

1. Sing it, Mick! Here it comes...here it comes...here it comes...

Here it comes, your nasty neocon breakdown!

[thoughtanarchist]

2. Here is our exit strategy:

Carve up Iraq into the regional ethnic states. This seems to be what the Iraqis want...

It seems like the greatest risk of collapse or escalating violence related to our withdrawal would stem from ethnic groups jockeying for power in the federal system we're foisting upon them. Let them carve up into regional states and I think the violence will diminish even as we pull out.

we know the Kurds want autonomy in the north.
we know the shiites want autonomy in the south.
that leaves a central region for sunnis.
All they need is a treaty to ensure oil revenues are shared among these groups and representation in a ministry to provide oversight to the oil industry.

Once autonomy in each region is achieved, these states can handle their own affairs without outside intervention.

-- Shiites Call for Own State in South
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/11/AR2005081101791.html

As they negotiate the details, our troops can pull back to the former "no-fly" zones and watch from the sidelines, to be available for a brief period as diplomatic referees to promote a fair process.

[geek tragedy]

3. "saying the proposal would fracture Iraq along religious and ethnic lines"

Uh, it's a little late for that . . .

[Igel]

4. They look to be appeasing.

But by restricting the Kurds out of Kirkuk, they're not. But it's an overture to fracture the ever-so-friable Shi'ite Arab/Kurdish bloc.

Autonomy's not good or bad: just as all sides in US politics usually like states' rights when it serves their interests, so regional autonomy in Iraq is good ... when it serves a group's interests.

Sunni Arabs aren't in a profitable area, even if they are scattered along some fairly good ground. They want oil money; they benefited disproportionately from it before, that's their birthright.

But autonomy would also preclude them ever getting sweeping authority over the rest of the country. Also their (communal) birthright.

[RedEarth]

5. Iraqis spar over federalism in constitution

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Angry over Shiite calls for regional governments, preachers in many Sunni mosques urged their followers Friday to register and vote in the October constitutional referendum — but against the charter if it includes measures to “divide the country” through federalism.

“We will say no to anything that leads to the division of our country,” Sheik Ayad al-Izzi told a congregation Friday in Baghdad’s Rashdiyah neighborhood. Sheik Mahmoud al-Sumaidaie urged worshippers in another mosque in the capital to reject federalism because “we are a unified nation.”

Oil riches, lost prestige and the influence of neighboring Iran are all at play as Iraqis grapple with federalism — a potential deal-breaker just days before Monday’s deadline for parliament to approve the new constitution.

“Matters are very complicated and need divine intervention” if the Monday deadline is to be met, Sunni Arab politician Saleh al-Mutlaq said Friday. He said that if the Shiites and Kurds steamroll a constitution unacceptable to the Sunnis, “it will be rejected by the people.”

The Kurdish minority has demanded federalism be enshrined in the constitution to protect the regional self-rule it has enjoyed in the north since 1991. Many Sunni Arabs, a formerly dominant minority, oppose federalism, fearing it would lead to the breakup of Iraq.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8931395/