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Initiate Regional Security and Diplomatic Efforts to Contain and Resolve Iraq’s Conflicts, Reshaping the Geopolitical Balance
Center for American Progress—Idea of the Day at 4/23/2008 3:12PM
Initiate Regional Security and Diplomatic Efforts to Contain and Resolve Iraq’s Conflicts, Reshaping the Geopolitical Balance
The United States should begin intense regional and international efforts to contain, manage, and ultimately resolve each of Iraq's conflicts. We should build on the suggestions of the Iraq Study Group and the steps already taken by the Bush administration in the first half of 2007 to participate in regional security conferences in Baghdad and Egypt and hold bilateral discussions with Iran.
In addition to working with Iraq's neighbors to ensure regional stability, the U.S. should acknowledge what is already a reality on the ground: the partition of Iraq. The Kurdish north is already essentially functioning independently, and recognizing the separate Shiite and Sunni zones will end the political stalemate in Iraq's national government.
My favorite part of this idea comes at the very end. We definitely need to hold bilateral talks with Iran. If we don't inject some serious diplomacy into that country, it looks like the road leads to a very dangerous place. A conflict with Iran could have negative implications for the entire region, and drag the U.S. into a war bigger than any we've seen since the first half of the 20th century.
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