Devolution into federated states (letter, January 13) is an apparently attractive answer, the more so since Iraq is an artificial country, cobbled together from three Turkish provinces containing three substantial ethnic/religious groups each of which detests and distrusts both the others. The catch is that it wouldn’t stop there.

The Kurds live in southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq and northwestern Iran. Creation of one semi-autonomous Kurdish state would strengthen demands for others in the contiguous areas, and then for their amalgamation into a Kurdistan nation. Neither Turkey nor Iran would allow this. And there is the temptation for Iran to amalgamate with its Shia coreligionists next door in southern and eastern Iraq, which could all too plausibly lead to a Greater Arabia that controlled much of the world’s oil.

Thus federation would be only a palliative. There is no obvious solution, not in the longer term.

Yours faithfully,
NOEL FALCONER,
3 Rue du Pech,
Luc-sur-Aude, Couiza, 11190 France.
January 13.

 

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