August 23, 2005

Misplaced Sunni Fears—and the Advantages of Federalism in Iraq

Iraqi-American Fawaz Saraf emails these insightful comments:

From the BBC:

….Sunnis have expressed concerns that allowing for federalism may lead to the creation of an autonomous Shia area in southern Iraq - like the Kurdish north but under Iran's influence….

…This kind of federalism - with an autonomous Kurdistan in the north and a big oil-rich Shia "region" in the south - leaves the minority Sunni Arabs appalled…

…They fear being left with a rump mini-state bereft of oil. They also fear the eventual break-up of the country…

Both Shiites and Kurdish representatives on the Constitutional committee as well as Shiites and Kurdish members of parliament should not compromise on the issue of federalism.  A loose federation of a predominantly Kurdish northern region, a predominantly shiite southern region, a predominantly sunni western region, and region of a ethnically and religiously mixed Baghdad and possibly Kirkuk is the best hope for a stable Iraq.

The sooner Sunni leaders accept the reality that Iraq is a diverse country with very rich regional traditions and customs and the sooner they abandon their destructive delusion that we all should be united under one Iraqi (and Arab) cultural banner, the sooner Iraq can return to normalcy and stability.

Iraqi shiites and kurds, having suffered the brunt of a strong Sunni dominated central government campaign of intimidation and murder, should never again allow their regions to be controlled by a strong central government.

As for the Sunni leaders’ fear of a Shiite region dominated by Iran, I must admit that in the midst of a Sunni dominated insurgency assisted by thousands of Arab terrorists murdering Iraqis by the thousands, the audacity and hypocrisy of such fears are startling.

FAKE WEDDING BUSTS HUGE BOOTLEGGING RING:

WASHINGTON — The guests thought they were headed to an early afternoon wedding on a yacht docked near Atlantic City. They ended up in jail instead, courtesy of an elaborate ruse by federal authorities hoping to bust up an international smuggling ring.

Lengthy undercover investigations on opposite sides of the country resulted in indictments of 87 Asians and U.S. citizens on charges of smuggling counterfeit money, drugs and cigarettes into the United States, law enforcement officials said Monday.

Authorities said they seized $4.4 million in high-quality fake $100 bills, more than 1 billion counterfeit cigarettes worth $42 million, and ecstasy, methamphetamine and Viagra worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

...Two defendants in New Jersey also were charged with conspiracy to ship $1 million in rocket launchers, automatic rifles and silenced pistols and submachine guns, officials said. The weapons were never delivered, they said. 

It's worth noting here that a lot of counterfeiting finances terrorism.