The Associated Press quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Ramzy Mardini on attempts by Iraq’s new government to empower the country’s local and provincial governments:
“There is the risk that federalism may eventually lead to secessionism,” said Ramzy Mardini, an Iraq expert at the Washington-based Atlantic Council. “It has already taken root in Iraqi Kurdistan, and once the territorial integrity of Iraq is compromised, there’s no assurance that things won’t unravel further.”