U.S. Embassy Criticizes Senate Resolution on Iraq Divisions

BAGHDAD — The American Embassy joined a broad swath of Iraqi politicians — both Shiite and Sunni — in criticizing a nonbinding U.S. Senate resolution seen as a recipe for splitting the country along sectarian and ethnic lines. The Senate resolution, adopted last week, proposed reshaping Iraq according to three sectarian or ethnic territories. It calls for a limited central government with the bulk of power going to the country's Shiite, Sunni, or Kurdish regions, envisioning a power-sharing agreement similar to the one that ended the 1990s war in Bosnia. Senator Biden, a Democrat of Delaware and presidential candidate, was a prime sponsor. In a highly unusual statement, the American Embassy said the resolution would seriously hamper Iraq's future stability.

"Our goal in Iraq remains the same: a united, democratic, federal Iraq that can govern, defend, and sustain itself," the unsigned statement said.

"Iraq's leaders must and will take the lead in determining how to achieve these national aspirations. ... attempts to partition or divide Iraq by intimidation, force, or other means into three separate states would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed," it said. The statement came just hours after representatives of Iraq's major political parties denounced the Senate proposal.