New Strategy in Iraq should focus on new elements; Kurdish Regional Government offers potential model

The decision to create a new strategy in Iraq was much-needed, but did not offer a realistic approach to creating stability in Iraq, according to Najmaldin Karim, President of the Washington Kurdish Institute, who wrote last week in the Orlando Sentinel. Dr. Karim affirmed that “unless the United States adopts a political policy toward Iraq that accepts these problems, which it has yet to do, relief will only be temporary. U.S. resources will continue to be wasted.”

Although in theory, the new strategic plan is intended to strengthen democracy and provide more security for the disparate ethnic and religious groups in the region, Karim argues that a plan that only advances a military strategy will not be successful. The political and ethnic divisions in the region were instilled under years of dictatorship and success is ultimately dependent on effectively addressing these encumbering internal tensions.

According to Karim, there are four critical factors for U.S. success in Iraq: security, a bolstered economy, legitimate Iraqi autonomy, and an end to the intrusion of foreign religious extremists. Karim believes that Iraq should be afforded regional independence as establishing self-governing ethnic regions – as has been done in the Kurdistan region - looks to be one of primary needs for the region’s success.

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