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Iraq
Lawmakers debate breaking Iraq into rival regions
2006-09-07
BAGHDAD - Iraq’s dominant Shia alliance submitted on Wednesday a draft of a new law to govern the division of the country into autonomous regions. The United Iraqi Alliance, the dominant Shia parliamentary bloc, is promoting a “law of regional formation” so that the oil-rich Shia southern Iraq can win self-rule on the model of the autonomous Kurdish north. “The law will define how the regions are formed and whether it will be done by the governing council or through popular referendum,” said party member Hamid Mualla al-Saadi.

Sunni lawmakers have vociferously opposed the draft law on autonomous regions, saying it is a prelude to the division of the country, which would leave them with just the resource-poor center and west of Iraq. But in recent days they appear to have softened their opposition, saying they would support the “administrative application of federalism” as long as a strong central government remains.
Posted by:Steve White

#3  What suprises me is that the Shia are pushing for this. They are the ones with the most to gain by a centralized government in that they'd control the whole thing.

Still I agree with Johnathon. I think we'll also see some of the mixed ethnic regions slowly become unmixed if we have autonomous regions. Not counting Baghdad of course.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2006-09-07 11:22  

#2  A de facto partition hidden behind de jure confederation might be just the ticket. It gives the Kurds a Kurdistan without upsetting the Turks, it gives the Shia someplace to be away from the Sunnis, and it reminds the Sunnis that unless they play nice they'll be stuck with sand and fleas. A good result all around.
Posted by: Jonathan   2006-09-07 09:55  

#1  It won't matter to Iran's Mullahs - there's only Iran/Persia, and Iran-centric Regional = Global Islamist fundamentalism + OWG.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2006-09-07 00:23  

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