Come home little Sunnis, come home

During the 35 year reign of Saddam Hussein, Sunnis’ ruled the roost. Despite their constituting only 10% of the indigenous population, the ruling Baathist Party not only put Sunnis in positions of power they also allowed and encouraged minority Sunnis to occupy homes and territory in traditional Shiite areas. Given the downfall of Saddam and the natural ascendancy of the majority Shiites, it’s not surprising they are now seeking a ‘perceived’ “Right of Return” to their historic neighborhoods and communities. Hence, the emergence of armed conflict, often called a Civil War, is simply an Ethnic Cleansing that must be allowed to reach its logical end. Such behavior was tolerated in Bosnia-Herzegovina and is a stated demand of the Hamas-led Palestinian government - surely Iraq deserves no less.
If the Iraqi Government and the United States Military really wish to see a significant improvement in the security situation in Baghdad, they should immediately encourage and facilitate the expulsion of these ‘Sunni-squatters’ from predominant Shiite neighborhoods and compensate their relocation in traditional Sunni towns. This may sound harsh, but ultimately it will require separating these tribal peoples geographically within Iraq in order for there to be peace. We can either wait until these ‘Sunni-settlers’ are killed off, one car bomb at a time, or bite the bullet now by exercising Eminent Domain, providing fair compensation and make Baghdad a Sunni-free zone.
The World Community cheered when Israel forced its Jewish citizens from their homes in Gaza despite the violence and difficulty in achieving that goal. In fact, Prime Minister Olmert’s Kadima Party was elected on a platform of similarly evacuating the West Bank and no one thought that idea was impossible. Saddam infused into Baghdad thousands of his own tribesmen from Kirkuk, Takrit and Samarra which then, artificially caused the capital city to be included in the ‘Sunni Triangle’ despite its historical Shiite identity.
The time has come for them to return home, get outta Dodge, make like a tree and leave. If we believe that Israelis and Palestinians can live “side-by-side”, then Shiites and Sunnis should be able to too – all they need is a little place they can call their own.