Also, discussion was made about the High Federal Government’s order to stop the referendum’s procedures in Kurdistan, and some see that the Kurds, since the beginning of the fall of Saddam’s regime, were working to fulfill the dream of an independent Kurdish State. Some responded saying that Shiites planned to devour the state from the beginning and their “plans were perfectly Iranian”. Regarding the proposal of a confederation in Kurdistan, some see that Kurdistan separation through an understanding is better for the rest of Iraq than a confederation, as separation means that the Kurds are responsible for themselves. Some wondered: does Iraq problem lie in the people or the doctrine of the ruling parties? The dialogue was concluded with a commendation of the emphasis of Mr. Prime Minister Dr. Haider Al-Abadi on the availability of the international support for Iraq and the necessity to benefit from this support in a proper way, in addition to the emphasis on the importance of the national partnership, and as he put it, “our doors are open to everyone”.

Conclusions:

·         Many power men and statesmen in Iraq who lack the future vision, tend to escalate and avoid diplomacy and peaceful solutions.

·         There is an indirect dependence on the neighboring and major states to manage and solve the dispute between the Center and the Region, and each side is using a group of states as instruments of pressure on the other.

·         There is significant underperformance of the outputs of the Iraqi Research Centers, which caused all the researches of the Iraqi affairs, that influence the international public opinion, to be written by foreign research centers, most of which are funded by states hostile to Iraq or competitors to it.

·         There is a problem in the correct distribution of powers, especially between the Center and both the provinces and Region. There is also a problem of a weak coordination among the authorities administrated by the state, and a low individual performance of officials.

·         Most of the ruling political parties in Iraq believe in the principle of the component’s rights and make it a priority that cancels the personal rights, which deepens the division among the components of the Iraqi people.

Recommendations:

·         The only place to solve problems is the negotiation table and the calm dialogue with the participation of all parties, along with new ideas that solve the old problems far from dictation, arm-wrestling culture, the unilateral convictions and entrenched positions.

·         The national choice must be adopted to solve the internal disputes through referring to the Iraqi constitution and avoiding the dependence on the foreign states, as this would undermine the sovereignty of the Iraqi state.

·         The Iraqi government must work to develop and support the current research centers in Iraq and establish new research centers using scientific standards that help them reaching universality, through engaging Iraqi expertise specialized in this field and keeping up with the international progress of the research centers, in addition to the necessity to create an Iraqi channel that is comparable to the channels of Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya.

·         We must not simplify the problems by blaming a certain side, and everyone must act according to the principle (I am part of the problem and I must be a fundamental part of the solution).

·         It is necessary for the political parties to abide the constitution and to work in accordance with its paragraphs, including the preservation of individual rights and treating Iraqi people based on public civil rights rather than based on different components.

Names of the participating members during the week:

(1)   Dr. Laith Kubba

(2)   Dr. Hasan Nazem

(3)   Mr. Rafea Abdul Jabbar

(4)   Dr. Abbas Kazem

(5)   Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hindawi

(6)   Dr. Aqeel Abd Yaseen

(7)   Dr. Azzam Alloush

(8)   Dr. Sabah Zangana

(9)   Mr. Lukman Al-Fili

(10)  Mr. Saeed Yaseen

(11)  Mr. Haider Hamada

(12)  Dr. Qusai Mahbuba