Reply #12: Just my two cents, but....

[Goldfish]

hasn't history shown us that carving up a country into autonomous regions sets the stage for continued strife? Look at what happened after World War II--the creation of the following: North and South Korea, North and South Vietnam, and East and West Germany. Even Japan was going to be split, with Hokkaido going to the Russians. The Japanese are forever grateful to General McArthur for putting a stop to this. We no longer have a divided Vietnam and Germany. Maybe the day may come when there will be a unified Korea. Can you imagine what it would be like to have the US split into autonomous regions?
Dividing Iraq as mentioned in the plan above does not provide for equitable distribution of the major natural resource, OIL, which should be shared by ALL Iraqis! The Kurds in the north are already making their own private deal with a US oil company. Are they going to SHARE this profit with the rest of the country? Something tells me, not!
The Iraqis have their sectarian differences, but under their skin they are all Iraqis--they are all brothers! The US should be playing a role in helping them to resolve their differences and being a PEACEMAKER rather then a warmonger.
Of course this requires true diplomacy, which is sorely lacking in the Bush maladministration. The Iraqis ultimately have the right to determine their own destiny, not us!
The solution of divvying up the country sounds simple, but it would be like opening up Pandora's box!