http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/103303695

The case for soft partition in Iraq

"To make soft partition viable, several imposing practical challenges must be addressed. These include sharing oil revenue among the regions, creating reasonably secure boundaries between them, and restructuring the international troop presence. Helping minority populations relocate if they wish requires a plan for providing security to those who are moving as well as those left behind. That means the international troop presence will not decline immediately, although we estimate that it could be reduced substantially within eighteen months or so. Population movements also necessitate housing swaps and job creation programs. Soft partition cannot be imposed from the outside. Indeed, it need not be. Iraq's new constitution, approved by plebiscite in October 2005, already permits the creation of "regions." Still, a framework for soft partition would go much further than Iraq has to date. Among other things, it would involve the organized movement of two million to five million Iraqis, which could only happen safely if influential leaders encouraged their supporters to cooperate, and if there were a modicum of agreement on where to draw border and how to share oil revenue"--Page x.

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