Iraqi President Open To Dividing The Country Along Ethnic Lines

Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani thinks the idea of dividing Iraq into three separate regions along ethnic lines, united under a limited central government, is a "very good one. " The declaration came Sunday night on CNN's "Late Edition" program.

The statement came in reference to a plan outlined by a non-binding U.S. Senate resolution, approved on September 26. That proposal calls for the dividing the country into three regions -- Shiite Muslim, Sunni Muslim and Kurd -- united under a central government that would protect Iraq's borders and distribute the country's oil revenue.

Other Iraqi leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, have also expressed support for the so-called "soft partition."

However, the Bush administration and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki are opposed to any division within the country and continue to push for sectarian reconciliation.

Talabani was in Washington last week for a meeting with President George W. Bush and members of Congress.

The Iraqi leader also stated during the CNN interview that the U.S. should be able to withdraw more than 100,000 of its troops, or the majority of its forces in Iraq, ``by the end of next year.''