As the violence and bloodshed in Iraq, against Shiites, Sunnis, and against U.S. military personnel, continue unabated, as the Associated Press reports, the time has come for the U.S. to discuss one alternative strategy for achieving peace, or at the least, to significantly reduce the violence: partitioning Iraq into separate semi-autonomous regions:

[Edward P. Joseph of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution] are proposing a partition plan that would divide Iraq into three main regions. . . . Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware [has also] sought for months to attract support for a partition plan he formulated with Leslie Gelb, former head of the private Council on Foreign Relations. . . .

Under the plan, Iraqis would divide the country into three main regions. Each would assume primary responsibility for its own security and governance, as Iraqi Kurds already have in Kurdistan. “Creating such a structure could prove to be difficult and risky,” the report said. “However, when measured against the alternatives -- continuing to police an ethnic-sectarian war, or withdrawing and allowing the conflict to escalate -- the risks of soft partition appear more acceptable.” . . .

The proposal would require the acquiescence of major political factions in Iraq. There would be substantial, voluntary movement in mixed, volatile areas.

As a Vietnamese American whose family has experienced firsthand the turmoil associated with having your country divided up, I can personally attest to the logistical and emotional costs and difficulties that would be involved with such a plan. At the same time, the practical reality is that what we’ve been doing in Iraq up to this point obviously isn’t working. Therefore, at the least, we need to seriously begin considering alternative strategies such as this.

Although such a plan may isn’t perfect, the experience of North and South Korea show that partitioning a country is, at the least, likely to significantly reduce the level of violence and bloodshed involved, presuming that the borders can be kept secure. Also, allowing Iraqis to voluntarily move if they wish would also avert the crisis of instantaneously dividing families through such a partition plan, as was the case with North and South Korea.

Again, partitioning a country is not the ideal solution, but given the “fubar” situation that we have now, it may be the best solution possible.