Such a referendum may also concentrate minds among the Arab Sunnis and Shia in Iraq, when they come to realize that it is their violence that is dismantling Iraq. Perhaps they may decide that violence is counter-productive and carries its own penalties, and may then follow the Kurdish example of curbing violence, which would help put Iraq together again without recourse to permanent repression.
这样的全民公决也可能在伊拉克逊尼和什叶派间达成一致，看到是暴力行为让伊拉克四分五裂。也许他们会认识到暴力的负面作用和随之而来的惩罚，开始学习库尔德人制止暴力的榜样。如果真是这样，那么无须借助长期的高压政策，伊拉克就能重新联合在一起。即使伊拉克的统一未能实现，至少库尔德人世世代代遭受的不公正待遇将最终得到改观。