Quote Originally Posted by jcustis View Post
I think we've done all we can to advance this idea marct...the walls we are banging our head against is the fact the the various parties aren't buying what we are selling. For the Kurds, the future of Iraq remains semi-autonomous rule in the north. For the Shi'a, the future is an ascendency of power aligned with Sadr in Baghdad, and Sistani in the south, with a bit of help from Iran where necessary. For the Sunni of Al Anbar, they probably see their best future as an Anbar operating in a semi-autonomous realm as well.
I hate to say it, but I suspect you are right or, at least, I'd lay 3:2 in favour of it. If that happens, though, then it will probably become increasingly important to retain some type of a presence in the Kurdish north. I'd be interested in Jed's comments on that idea...

If that is going to happen, however, we will probably be dealing with one of the 3 region variants with the variation in how much "local autonomy" resides in each region.

Marc