Whether Iraq can be held together despite the ethnic and religious confrontations that pit Kurds against Arabs and Sunnis against the Shi’a is one of the most pregnant questions for the new Middle East. For Iraq’s disintegration would be hard to contain; indeed, it could bring about a thorough balkanization of the region.
尽管面临库尔德人和阿拉伯人之间以及逊尼派和什叶派之间的种族和宗教对峙，伊拉克是否还能保持统一将是新中东意义最重大的问题之一。因为伊拉克的分裂将会难以控制；的确，它将造成该地区的全面巴尔干化。