Iraq as It Is . . .

There are actually two countries between Iran and Syria. One is Iraq, a land caught between al-Qaeda terrorists and Iranian-supported Shiite extremists. Iraq is a country facing a complex set of challenges, run by imperfect leaders with various agendas, protected by many courageous security forces hindered by sectarian elements among them. It is a country in which American forces are essential to establishing and securing order and are succeeding in that task. It is a country where there are no easy solutions, but where success is possible if Americans and Iraqis show the necessary determination and skill.

The other country between Iran and Syria might be called "MyRaq." (For this coinage, we are indebted to our friend Joel Rayburn.) This is a different country entirely--a land that exists only in the imaginations of various American political leaders in Washington and in the Green Zone. In MyRaq, the problems are fairly simple and solutions are obvious, although they differ from one MyRaq to another:

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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.