CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: PREVENTING CONFLICT OVER KURDISTAN
Henri Barkey, in his publication for the Carnegie Endowment, calls for conflict prevention in areas of Kurdish settlement. Among his policy recommendation for the United States, Barkey suggests:
1. Break the deadlock between the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) over oil and gas revenue sharing and refugee resettlement. This will go a long way toward rebuilding trust and preventing Kirkuk from becoming a flashpoint—the first priority for the United States.
2. Solidify the dialogue between Turkey and the KRG through U.S. involvement. Warming relations between Turkey and the KRG would stabilize the region and aid in a smooth U.S. troop withdrawal.
Question to the Blogosphere: In your opinion, would these recommendations help the Kurdish people search for common ground with their neighbors? What are some issues over which the search for common ground could be terminated? What common interests do Turkish and Kurdish people have? What are some trust-building exercises that could be employed by negotiators in Kirkuk to bring peace to the oil-rich region in Iraq? Is the United States the right actor to be fulfilling these recommendations?
THE JAMESTOWN FOUNDATION: RECONCILIATION IN MALI?
In Mali, Tuareg rebels from the Democratic Alliance for Change faction agreed to lay down their arms under an Algerian-brokered peace deal, as government operations against another Tuareg rebel faction continued. Mali is eager to bring a series of Tuareg rebellions to an end to allow for more intensive oil exploration by Chinese and Australian firms already at work in northern Mali. The leader of the month-long revolt,Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, fled the country. He repeatedly rejected participation in the Algerian-brokered peace talks that have brought most Tuareg rebels back into the national fold. Under pressure from the military offensive, Ag Bahanga had a sudden change of heart and appealed to Bamako and Algiers to reopen the peace process, but Mali’s government has run out of patience with Ag Bahanga and professed that there would be no further negotiations.
Question to the Blogosphere: What are the barriers to solving this conflict once and for all (after years of sporadic fighting)? Do you think the fact that Mali has oil wealth to extract is a reason why common ground between the government and the rebel factions has yet to be found? Would reconciliation and negotiation provide a better scenario for the government than their best alternative to a negotiated agreement? What about for the rebels? Do you think Algeria could be a useful third party for ending the conflict?
Obama was known throughout his campaign as one who could bridge the divide between the many factions of culture in the United States, especially between liberals and the religious right. However with his nomination of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas to be secretary of health and human services and his termination of of rules adopted at the end of the Bush administration allowing health care workers to decline to participate in actions that violate their moral or religious beliefs, tensions are remounting between pro-choice and pro-life contingents.
Given the opposition in Congress to any federal funding for abortion, this issue could go away. Obama almost certainly hopes that it does. His success as a cultural peacemaker depends on his ability to move the country’s moral discussion toward social justice and economics.
Question to the Blogosphere: Can Obama continue to serve as a “cultural peacemaker” in the United States? Is abortion really that divisive of an issue or are there extremists within both camps that spoil any hope for finding common ground? What do you think of Obama’s choice of Sebelius as HHS secretary? Do you think that a President should be restrained from nominating people to his cabinet who may hold controversial opinion, or is this the catalyst for change?
In our continuing discussion of finding common ground on the abortion debate in the United States, Ross Douthat provides an interesting point of view. He argues that attempting to find common ground on the abortion debate is an honorable goal, and that reducing abortions should be on the Democratic agenda, but that a push for increased contraception use will not stem these abortions. He argues that Roe v. Wade probably raised the abortion rate by 50% can that some may see this tactic of increasing contraception use as a cop-out rather than a cure. While he disagrees with Will Saletan, who espouses the belief that if not contraception use than cultural changes have to be made in order to reduce abortions, he does recognize the need to search for common ground on the abortion issue. He believes that the differences between them are philosophical, and cannot be bridged.
Question to the Blogosphere: If there are philosophical differences between individuals’ ideas of “compromise” on the abortion issue, how is it possible to find common ground? It has been acknowledged that no one on either side of the abortion debate wants more abortions and that all prefer fewer abortions–how can we translate this into a policy that appeases everyone? Should abortion laws be instituted on a federal or state level? Why do you think the abortion rate is so high in the United States? Are the parties involved in this debate willing to look at the world from the point of view of their opponents, in your opinion?
THE ECONOMIST: FINDING COMMON GROUND WITH BRITISH MUSLIMS V. ENSURING SECURITY
Great Britain has a long history of interacting with its Muslim population and has often acted with grace and shrewdness when approaching solutions to conflicts. However now there is a tension between the government’s attempts to promote closing the gap separating the British Muslims from the rest of the population and ensuring national security in the wake of a terrorist attack that killed 56 Brits. The key to peaceful cohesion of the entire population of Great Britain, including Muslims, is to promote the agency of moderate, educated Muslims.
Question to the Blogosphere: Do you think that common ground can be found between Muslims (who may be secular) and the British government? What actions could be taken by the British government to encourage development of common ground between members of British society? How do you prevent the expansion of Radical Islam in Britain? Why is it so much harder to negotiate with British Muslims now than it has been in the past? Is Islam a religion only–or a culture and a separate religion that share the same history and name?
