Summary
I applaud Bruce Fein for having the honesty to admit that the partitioning of Iraq would involve "[e]thnic or sectarian cleansing to make the statelets homogeneous" ("Exit plan benchmarks," Commentary, Nov. 21). This honesty is more than any other proponent of partition has admitted, be it Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., or Sen. "Johnny-come-lately" Barack Obama, as they count on the fact that a public hungry for change in Iraq will accept the idea without looking too deep. However, Mr. Fein's argument breaks down when he asserts that "ethnic cleansing has been accepted by the international community in Kosovo, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia."
Though partition has been accepted widely and used, ethnic cleansing accompanying it has not, which is why the terminology carries such negative connotations. Perhaps the greatest failing of the Dayton Accords was that though they established separate ethnic enclaves, the displaced people still owned their original homes, maintained a right of return and even voted in the villages from which they were displaced. This is why peacekeepers are still required in Bosnia. What stability we do see in Bosnia is not thanks to the partition but to the fact that so many refugees resettled in Europe, with no plan of returning.See the full content of this document
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Partitioning Won't Work
Europeans and Middle Easterners don't ...
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