People might not want to hear this, but there is no clear solution to what this administration has brought to us in Iraq. A sudden pullout would in fact leave many Iraqi civilians in harm’s way in an all out carnage of sectarian violence. This is unavoidable; we are seeing this while our troops are still there. Nothing except committing more troops, which at this point is impossible will stop this carnage.

Iran on the other hand, will have an unparalleled opportunity to become the dominant power in the Middle East by exploiting the weakness of the Iraqi central government. This is a fact friend, not fiction. As a student of history I can just about guarantee that Iran will be the de facto ruler of Iraq. They had a six year war with Iraq and had over a million casualties. The United States backed that war and Iran will not forget. This poses a serious problem for The United States.

To let Iran have hegemony over the Middle East would be anathema to The United States. They would in fact, now threaten Saudi Arabia and America’s oil supplies. If we were to go to war to defend Saudi Arabia, that would indeed be a war for oil. Whether or not we would defend Saudi Arabia with the current feelings in the US would be hard to predict. Would we go to war with Iran over Saudi Arabia? Could we if we pulled all our troops from the Middle East?

This is a conundrum. Damned if we do, and damned if we don’t. This brings us to a modest proposal on the Middle East that could ensure Iran would never complete its hegemony over Iraq. It would guarantee a safe haven in the west for Sunni Muslims and guarantee a free state for the Kurds in the north of Iraq that are for the most part, operating as an independent state now.

My proposal is to re-align our forces. We must cut the number of troops in Iraq by half. Move our bases into Northern Iraq (Kurdistan), take the city of Kirkut and concentrate on that city and bring it under control and realign it with Kurdistan. Kurdistan would at this time elect to stay a part of Iraq as an autonomous state, or it could declare its independence. With a strong American presence in Kurdestan, Turkey would not have to worry about Kurds using Kurdistan as a base to launch attacks against Turkey. This would give the Kurds their homeland, while also keeping a large US presence in the area.

Keeping a large military presence in a friendly country that would actually welcome us is a large strategic advantage. Basing troops in Kuwait, with their ports on the Gulf would also give us added military strength in the area and give the US the capability to keep the Gulf open.

I see this a win-win situation. This proposal would give America a steadfast friend in the region, one that has enormous oil reserves. It would also guarantee a Kurdish homeland, and give America a great strategic base to operate from. It would also be a place that should we need to strike anywhere in Iraq, we could launch military operations from if Kurdistan if it was necessary to protect human life in Iraq. It would also give Iran pause in the event they wanted to attack Saudi Arabia. This is the way I see it.