Nicholas Carmichael
upon the “building on shared interests,” or a formation of coalitions between populations. Landmines will be utilized as a “third side” between the new coalition, Iraq, and the Kurdish Regional Government. Since landmines kill indiscriminately, the physical and emotional damage they cause can be used to unify these stakeholders’ interests. Landmines are not just killing Yazidis; they are killing Iraqis. Framing the issue in this way will bolster support for demining efforts in the region. To further increase accessibility, Iraqi and Kurdish officials must be politically pressured into easing up on the government checkpoints along the roads of Sinjar. Mark Green has already done this on his last trip to Iraq, where he met with Kurdish and Iraqi leaders. Green did so by promising them a portion of U.S reconstruction funds allocated to the region. The U.S is able to exert its influence on the region, because it has the most money and clout in the new coalition. Mark Green will be the main actor influencing Iraqi and Kurdish officials, since he already has a working relationship with them. Stabilize Sinjar to allow for reconstruction The final step of this three-pronged solution is the stabilization of the Sinjar region in order to allow for the reconstruction of critical infrastructure. Disputed territory between Iraq’s central government and the autonomous KRG are a major underlying factor for Iraq destabilization. The Sinjar region specifically is heavily disputed. Because of this, the successful reconstruction of the Sinjar region requires Baghdad and KRG cooperation. Although ISIS was dispelled in 2015, the post-ISIS era has fundamentally changed dynamics on further decentralization and fragmentation in all of Iraq and in Sinjar in particular. Unaddressed, these factors will cause Sinjar to remain unstable, even after ISIS fully retreats, and will continue to act as an obstacle for social and physical reconstruction. In order to stabilize the region, my strategy will call on the German ambassador to Iraq, Dr. Cyril Nun, as a stakeholder to coordinate a meeting between the KRG prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani, and the Iraqi President, Barham Salih. The German Consul-General in Erbil, Barbara Wolf, will also be called into this meeting. This meeting will allow both parties to identify shared interests, and create a plan to achieve peaceful coexistence. Most importantly, this meeting will be successful, because before becoming the Iraqi President, Salih served as the Prime minister of the KRG for three years. Since Salih has prior knowledge
41
