KURDS READY TO FIGHT TO REGAIN HOMELAND TAKEN BY SADDAM AND BAATHISTS
BAGHDAD REGIME, BACKED BY IRAN OPPOSES TOP US ALLY IN THE REGION WITH US BACKED ARMY
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER
When abandoned by every nation in the region, only the Kurds stood by America to overthrow Saddam. These were the same Kurds who had been slaughtered by Saddam after helping America in the first Gulf War. President George H.W. Bush stepped aside and allowed Saddam to murder tens of thousands of Kurds, most women and children. This is the crime Saddam was executed for by Bush II, a crime facilitated by Bush I.
Oil rich Kirkuk is a Kurdish city with a minor Turkmen population. Arabs in Kirkuk were moved in by Saddam when Kurds were "resettled" or slaughtered. This is not an Arab region in Iraq. Kirkuk is pure Kurd.
Kurdish Prime Minister Barzani and Iraq President Malaki, believed to be a ally of Iran by most, are locked in a struggle over the oil wealth of that region. Kurd militas and US armed troops from the Baghdad regime faced off June 28th over a key village in that region. The ignorant Bush/Rice policy in Iraq, utterly lacking in understanding of regional issues or respecting the US debt to our long suffering Kurdish allies could only be intended to push majority Shiites in Iraq into a coalition with Iran.
News stories reporting on this conflict conveniently omit Kurdish history. Our NATO partner, Turkey, that refused to allow US troops access to Northern Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, has long been an enemy of our Kurdish allies. If Turkey had joined with the US, the military disaster that led to years of conflict might have been averted. Instead, the US depended on Kurdish armies to defeat Saddam in Northern Iraq.
Reports of Kurdish incursions in and around Kirkuk fail to mention that the Arabs in the region are remnants of Saddam’s occupation forces, not residents. The efforts by the Baghdad government to continue control of this Kurdish region is driven by need to control the regions oil revenues and continue to fuel Iraq’s massive corruption.
Few countries on Earth outside Great Britain and Israel hold more affection for the United States than Kurdistan. Actually, of course, Kurdistan doesn’t exist. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 ignored 40 millon Kurds when they created nations out of the failed Ottoman empire. Kurdistan extends from Syria, Turkey, Iraq and into Iran with only the KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) in Iraq with any degree of autonomy.
Turkey has invaded Iraq several times in their battle with the PKK, a Kurdish group that crisscrosses the Iraq Kurdish border. Turkey is making increasing efforts to recognize regional autonomy for their Kurdish regions but conflicts continue.
The current Kurdish capital is Irbil, a thriving and peaceful city in the north of Iraq. Irbil is, in many ways, the economic capital of Iraq with regular commercial flights to Europe every day and the beginnings of a tourist industry.
We may have armed our former enemies in Baghdad and agreed to submit to their demands that our troops remain sequested. In the process, we have emboldened our former enemies toward additional acts of aggression against our friends.
Is it ignorance or is an oil deal, an arms trade or a payoff of some kind involved. No sensible person can rule these issues out when reviewing Bush foreign policy failures.
Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran and regular contributor on political and social issues.
Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.
Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
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