Comment & Debate
Barry Posen. “The risks of staying vs. leaving Iraq”. Boston Globe. April 19th, 2007 – “If the civil war intensifies, regional powers will rush in. This too is already under way, but escalation into a giant civil war is not in anyone’s interest. Syria, Iran, and Turkey have Kurdish minorities which may become restive during such a war. The Saudis would likely prefer that their Sunni Arab friends make a deal, rather than wage a fight that they might lose. Even Iran, whose Shia co-religionists stand to win such a war, faces risks. The Arab Shia are not one big happy family; they kill each other in Iraq today. Most Iraqi Shia think of themselves as Arabs; heavy-handed Iranian intervention may energize their nationalist opposition.”