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Iraqis need to build state, not just defeat IS

Iraqis cannot liberate their country from the Islamic State unless they are able to create a unified state representing all interests.
A member of the Iraqi security forces stands guard as displaced Sunni people, who fled the violence in the city of Ramadi, arrive at the outskirts of Baghdad, April 18, 2015. Iraqi security forces fought Islamic State militants at the gates of the western city of Ramadi on Friday, and local authorities warned it was in danger of falling unless reinforcements arrived soon.  REUTERS/Stringer - RTR4XVJ3
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Preparing for the post-Islamic State (IS) era is not premature — it is a fundamental issue that Iraqis, including the political and cultural elite, have already begun to address. The common consensus is that the next era will be different than the one preceding IS' occupation of nearly a third of Iraq.

Iraq stands at a crossroads, and the country’s decisions today will define the state of affairs after IS is driven out of the country. In this sense, the future depends on the Iraqi political milieu's vision of the future Iraqi state: Do these politicians have a specific plan for the building of a unified Iraqi state? Or is the plan predicated on the partitioning and disappearance of Iraq as we know it, after IS is gone?

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