If Iraq somehow manages to survive its current conflict in one piece, another will almost certainly follow. Its instability is both devastating and chronic. Far better at this point if Iraq simply terminates itself as a state and lets its various constituent groups peaceably go their own way, as Yugoslavia did after its own catastrophic series of wars in the 1990s.Totten concludes:
Maybe the Sunnis and Shias will figure out a way to live together in peace. It seems unlikely at this point, but who knows? The Middle East is full of surprises. But if they want a divorce—for all of our sakes—let them have it.A past argument against partition held that altering colonial-era boundaries could trigger war-without-end. African nations have found that argument persuasive.
The only real allies Americans have in Iraq are the Kurds. If we’re going to live by that famous foreign policy maxim, that you reward your friends and punish your enemies, then we are required to let the Kurds go and to let Iraq die.
The Middle East already has near-perpetual war making the threat empty. Furthermore, ISIS has erased the boundary between Iraq and Syria. However, protecting the Kurds from the Turks could be very difficult.
