 "Photo: Kim Peterson")
The image of an Iraq strongly divided along sectarian lines is not in keeping with the country's past, said a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family.
Prince Turki Al-Faisal Al Saud, former ambassador to the United States for Saudi Arabia, said the fervent divisions between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims in his country are "unusual" for an area that has traditionally been united.
"What we are witnessing today is an aberration," Turki said.
He said tribal groups in Iraq are often a melting pot with both Sunni and Shi'ite members who share common interests. Turki made his comments to a crowd of students at the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Friday.
Turki expressed strong support for a single, united Iraq and blasted a plan proposed by U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., to divide the country into three separate states for the three separate ethnic and religious groups: Kurdish, Sunni and Shi'ite.
"I think that proposition is not only preposterous, but is also bizarre," Turki said. "It will be catastrophic if it ever happens."
He said the plan would be chaotic both practically and for the majority of Iraqis, who he said want to stay united.
"We believe the people of Iraq don't want to see a divided Iraq," Turki said.
Nicole Mossalam, a freshman in Middle East studies, agreed that Iraq should not be divided into separate states because it would create conflicts over access to oil and other resources.
"You're not sure if one chunk is going to have more natural resources than another chunk," she said.
Turki said it is important for foreign nations to allow Iraqis to determine their own futures.
"The solution to the Iraqi situation has to come from within Iraq," he said. "Saudi Arabia is keeping an equal distance from all the factions in Iraq."
