By Aram Mirzaei
As predicted, the Kurdish referendum ended in a conflict over the disputed areas in northern Iraq, areas that have been occupied by Kurdish Peshmerga forces since the 2014 ISIL invasion of Iraq.
Throughout these weeks, Kurdish media close to Kurdish president Masoud Barzani have acted very much like their western counterparts, spreading atrocious lies about the Iraqi Army and Hashd Al Shaabi (PMU). One example was the ridiculous claim made by Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) affiliated media that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and General Soleimani have a major role in the operations of the Iraqi government and Hashd Al Shaabi to retake Kirkuk. Here, the “independent” Rudaw Network literally engaged in fake news, when correspondent Hemen Abdullah, citing “anonymous sources” posted a two year old picture of Soleimani on twitter, claiming to prove his presence in Kirkuk. Needless to say, at the time of the Iraqi offensive, Soleimani was probably returning home after visiting Jalal Talabani’s grave to pay his respects.
The Barzani-affiliated media deliberately mentioned Hashd Al Shaabi and the Revolutionary Guards as the main parts of the operation of Kirkuk in an effort to divide and break the unity in Iraq, but also to attract American support, by claiming IRGC is participating in the offensive. The Barzani phalange highly counted on the support of the Western countries, despite the EU and Washington providing very little support prior to the referendum. All these efforts, including the false claims of high Kurdish casualties and Iraqi savagery, when in fact injured Peshmerga fighters were treated by Iraqi medics, are aimed at spreading a false narrative of the true nature of this conflict. In order to truly understand the dynamics of this conflict, it is essential to sort out the different parties to this conflict.
I have time and again argued that Kurds are very poorly understood both outside as well as inside the community itself. There are some facts about the Kurds that need to be addressed. 1- The Kurdish language is divided into several dialects that are not mutually intelligible. 2- All Kurds do not share the same religion, while many are Sunni Muslim, a sizeable minority are Shias, Yezidi, Alevi, Christians and even Jews. 3- All Kurds do not share the same ideology and dream of statehood. There are many Kurdish parties that seek different goals, depending on ideology, geographical location and history. The third point is very much relevant here (I will touch briefly on the first two points as well). So far, Kurds have been presented in the West (and by themselves) as an ideologically homogenous people who seek the same goal in all four countries that they dwell in.
But Kurds are very much as human as any other people and can be found both to the left and right in the political spectrum. In fact, Kurds have been very passionate about their ideologies, so much that they have engaged in several civil wars and internal conflicts over political differences.
Many of you have already heard and read about the (formerly) Leftist orientated PKK and YPG parties in Syria and Turkey. In the case of Iraq, most have probably also heard about the two major Kurdish parties (not the only ones) , KDP and PUK in the Kurdish autonomous region also known as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). But few know about the differences between these two and their history of animosity towards each other.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has a long and complex history in the politics of both Iraq and Iran. Starting in 1946, in the aftermath of the Soviet-British occupation of Iran as a result of WWII, the leader of the Soviet-backed Republic of Mahabad, Qazi Mohammad announced the formation of the KDP in Iran. The Soviet Union supported both Kurdish and Azeri separatist causes in Iran and to some extent in Iraq as well because the monarchies of these two countries were UK/US-backed. It is here that Mustafa Barzani (Masoud Barzanis father) entered Iran from Iraq. Mustafa Barzani was on the run from Iraq after he had participated in his clan’s feudal uprising against the Iraqi monarchy who attempted to centralize the country.
Barzani and Qazi Mohammad maintained an uneasy, albeit necessary alliance, despite falling out several times during the short-lived era that the Mahabad Republic existed. Barzani, acting on feudal motives, attempted to create special privileges and dispensations for his tribe, something that Qazi Mohammad refused, arguing that it would harm Kurdish unity. As the short lived Republic fell back to government hands following the Soviet withdrawal later that same year, Barzani and his followers fled to the Soviet Union, seeking support, later he and his followers formed the Iraqi KDP.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), came about as a result of a split within the KDP. Ibrahim Ahmad and Jalal Talabani, two prominent members had several falling outs with Barzani and the rest of the KDP especially during Baathist Iraq. After Abdul Salam Arif’s successful coup in 1963, Mustafa Barzani signed an agreement with Arif, one that did not include any mention of self-administration or autonomy, the whole point of the Kurdish struggle. This move nearly sparked a war as Ahmad and Talabani were infuriated while Barzani declared that any resistance to Baghdad would mean war against himself and his followers. Only a year later Barzani and his forces attacked Ahmad, Talabani and 4000 of their followers, driving them into exile in Iran.
It would still take roughly 10 years before the formation of the PUK would be announced. The Union was formed out of five separate political entities, most notably Marxist-Leninist parties from Iran and soon quickly attracted an intellectual and socialist support base as opposed to the feudal-tribal support base of Mustafa Barzani and the KDP. Tensions reached an all-time high in the 1990s when a full scale civil war broke out in the Kurdistan autonomous region between these two factions, with the KDP inviting Saddam Hussein to attack PUK forces. As a result, for more than two decades, Erbil and Sulaimaniya have been rival power bases in northern Iraq. The former is home to the Barzani clan, and the latter the base of the PUK.
Today, these tensions are no less visible as a potential Third Iraqi-Kurdish war is about to break out., which takes us back to the first part of this article. Among Iraqi Kurds today, there are different opinions on the referendum and the question of Kurdish statehood, but you won’t hear about any other opinion than the one presented by Masoud Barzani and his affiliates. Despite offering its support for the referendum last month, figures from the PUK and KDP have been at each others throats since Baghdad initiated its operation to reclaim Kirkuk and the surrounding areas.
The surrender of Kirkuk took place amid internal divisions among the PUK and KDP, with the PUK also suffering from an internal division itself due to Jalal Talabani’s recent passing away. Both parties command their own Peshmerga forces and while the KDP stood united in their support for the referendum, the PUK remained split on the issue as they were concerned with the consequences it would have for the KRG.
In a matter of 48 hours Kirkuk and surrounding areas were taken by Iraqi forces, as Peshmerga forces withdrew. According to Bafel Talabani, the son of Jalal Talabani, just before the Iraqi forces were moving to retake Kirkuk, a deal was reached with Baghdad to withdraw Peshmerga forces from the city. He went on to blast the decision of the Kurdish leadership to go ahead with a referendum on independence, calling it a “colossal mistake”. He also added that a a US proposal to postpone the referendum by two years should have been accepted and would have avoided the current situation, in which Iraqi forces have taken back control of areas controlled by Kurds since 2014.
And indeed he was right, at least in the sense that the referendum ended in a catastrophe for the KRG. The result of the referendum was not a 93% win but the loss of Kirkuk, Sinjar and other territories that the Kurdish forces had captured since 2014. The result was also that the KRG now faced immediate sanctions, shutting down of airspace include a stop on all international flights into the region, military drills, threats from Turkey and Iran calling for a nullification of the referendum results. Before the referendum the KRG enjoyed warmer ties with Baghdad as allies against ISIL, the KRG was among the top providers of oil to neighbouring Turkey and trade with Iran was at a very high level.
Barzani was warned by experts, analysts, world leaders, and journalists about calling for any sort of referendum. Unfortunately, he chose to surround himself with Zionist propagandists such as Bernard Henri Levy, the French “philosopher”.
The reality is that the deal agreed by elements of the PUK and Baghdad saved countless of lives and a potential catastrophe for the KRG as the Iraqi army and Hashd Al Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) are far better trained and armed than the Peshmerga. While the Kurds have spent their time on public relations, trying to portray themselves as the key force fighting ISIL, the reality is that it was the Iraqi Army and Hashd Al Shaabi that did the heroic fighting and liberated Ramadi, Fallujah, Tikrit, Baiji, Mosul and Tal Afar. It is Hashd Al Shaabi that has spilled most blood in order to defend their homes, and Rex Tillerson has the audacity to ask them to “leave Iraq” and “Go home”.
Thus, it was the only responsible decision in a situation where Kurdish leaders should have concluded that war is futile given the internal Kurdish divisions, the massive disparity in military strength between Baghdad and the KRG and the regional consensus and unity among Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria to stop the formation of a Kurdish state.
For his part, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, having hidden from the public since the loss of Kirkuk, issued a statement in which he blamed the PUK for losing Kirkuk, when he spoke of “some people from a certain political party” having “unilaterally paved the way for such an attack, whose result was the withdrawal of the Peshmerga forces from Kirkuk.” Earlier, peshmerga figures loyal to the KDP accused a group within the PUK of “treason” for assisting Baghdad’s advance. “We regret that some PUK officials helped in this plot,” a statement said.
I have heard this argument before. Anyone who takes a more reasonable stance than the KDP is accused of treason. It is as if denying reality will make the problems go away. There is a general mentality among Kurds, especially in Iraq, where a surreal expectation of statehood is the only acceptable stance for a Kurd based on the argument that “we have fought ISIL courageously, now we deserve our own country.” It worries me that Kurds view their own lands as some form of a war booty that is granted by the International Community along with a pat on the shoulder. Somewhere along the line, the Kurds I have argued and debated with seem to want to forget that nowhere in history has a people “deserved” their own country, it has often been a bloody struggle of conquest and/or liberation (depending on who writes history).
Whatever the KDP and Barzani followers may feel, the reality is that the Kurdistan project was only going to be possible if the KRG controlled the major oil resources in Kirkuk. The Kirkuk and Bai Hasaan fields in Iraq, which have now been restored to the control of Baghdad currently produce a combined total of around 1.2 million barrels per day. Prior to its recapture by Iraqi pro-government forces, the Kirkuk and Bai Hasaan fields provided Israel with 77 percent (Financial Times statistic for 2015) of its imported oil needs at very low prices. That should tell you how the loss of Kirkuk must have felt for Barzani.
The future?
The KRG today faces issues with transparency, accountability, massive debt, unemployment and nepotism. The KRG, led by the KDP has many positions filled with the Barzani clan. For example Masoud Barzani’s nephew is Prime Minister while his son is head of the Security Council. Barzani’s term as president expired years ago but has been extended twice, once in 2013 by the Parliament and once in 2015. Since then, the Parliament has been forcefully shut down as well, save for a brief reconvening to fulfil the planned referendum. New Presidential and Parliamentary elections are set for early November, although threats have arrived of postponing them.
Going back to point 1 and 2 about the Kurds, I think its fair to say that a people that are as divided ideologically, religiously and linguistically can hardly succeed in forming a state under these circumstances. If the Kurds in Iraq, who mostly share the same language, the same religion and the same desire for a country cannot unite and at one point even go at war with eachother, imagine what would happen if one day a Greater Kurdistan were to be formed from parts of Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey.
In the short term, calls for Barzani’s resignation have already been raised by the Kurdish opposition movement (Gorran Movement), but it remains to be seen what will happen now. The Barzanis are not known to be giving up power so easily and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he would be aiming to extend his term yet again, and why shouldn’t he? As long as the KDP has the loyalty of Kurds in the ballots, the Barzani clan can continue to rule. Project Kurdistan is far from a legitimate state, and the referendum was a total failure, but will the Kurdish people have learned a lesson?
“… the Kirkuk and Bai Hasaan fields provided Israel with 77 percent (Financial Times statistic for 2015) of its imported oil needs at very low prices. ”
This recent change of ‘ownership’ will likely increase Israeli frustration/aggression (early signs apparent) and cause a rise in global oil pricing as the occupying apartheid regime now needs to bid on the open market (assumption). Russia won’t view a price rise as a problem.
The Palestinian Occupation Force must be digging like crazy in the Golan Heights for some ‘black gold’ although it is still likely Syria will move to reclaim the region in due course — especially now they have a well seasoned army to do something with.
Kurdistan has no future. It will always be surrounded by opposing states – Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq. Borders would be closed. Air routes closed. The original plan was for them to take parts of Turkey to the Mediterranean coast whiich would make a Kurdistan viable. However, that opporunity has passed. The putative Kurdistan could only survive as a gangster state, just like its Israeli patron.
Pakistan has survived. It even became a nuclear weapons state.
Pakistan has a section of coastline…..Kurdistan is boxed in.
The Future?
Zion asset Barzani is a dead man walking. Retirement in Tel Aviv might be his best possible career option.
Star of the moment is Iraqi’s prime minister Haidar Al Abadi. Over the recent weeks and months he managed to use the almost non-existing space for maneuvering he inherited exceptionally well, bringing Iraq back on the map.
Zion’s proxy forces risk securing a lot of oil fields east of the Euphrates while getting surrounded from all sides. Oh, irony of ironies.
Biji Kurdistan, Biji Russia
Kurdish leadership…. what a bunch of loserss, we should have always kept contact with the Russian crowd, maybe then psychopath Turks would know their place…
None of the countries surrounding Kurdistan have any moral upper hand.. especially not Iraqi Arabs nor the chicken meat paper tiger turks….
Iran has some semblance of responsibility and respect for Kurdish struggle but at the end of the day KURDS lost the fight in 1920s and Kurdistan was killed by my cowardly ancestors…. No wonder they helped the young Turks kill Armenians since cowards breed dishonorable acts such as genociding the hecckkk out of a innocent nation, Armenian Christian Brothers of mine…
We Kurds paying for past mistakes But if we had the power and righteous mind We WOULD First OBLITERATE Turkish military and Iraqi ones and help the Iranians and Syrians..
We live in a Masonic controlled evil Nationstatehood world..
We Kurds can only wait for the Mahdi and the Prophet Jesus to return back ! Which would actually be my Kurdistan :)) FORGET NATION STATES , secular or extremist cult like nations..!!
Biji Islam, Orthodox Christians
Peace from a distant Kurdish/armenian/georgian student of Sheikh Imran and SAKER :)))
We’ll see what happens. But Al Qaeda was backed by the US. Iraq was backed by the US in the 1980s, and sanctions killed half a million in the 1990s. The uprising in Iraq post Kuwait was encouraged by the US but lead to disaster for those that listened. ISIS was encouraged by the US.
You’d have thought that the kurds would know better.
A lot of waffle to say almost ***nothing***. Let’s make it far easier and clearer…
The Kurds had nothing but fair-weather friends- not one of which shared the naive ‘independence’ views of certain kurdish leaders. ***All*** the major Empire players, and all the major regional players, are totally against a kurdish state. So once the kurds had finished being ‘useful idiots’ it was back to business as usual for them.
As a muslim people, the kurds are caught between a rock and a hard place. Islam, for the kurds, is like christianity for the brits. It is their vague cultural flavour, but kurds look, dress and act like modern Humans unlike so many muslims in the region. Modern islam has its origins in Turkey, so the turks naturally ask the kurds why they want to claim they don’t belong as turkish citizens. And turkish kurds just don’t have a good answer.
The nasty truth is that a tiny number of vile inhuman kurdish ‘thinkers’ play ordinary kurds with ‘independence’ rabble rousing ideologies- just like how a handful of middle-class ‘intellectuals’ in wales created a welsh independence movement in the 1960s that helped change the face of wales agaisnt the wishes of ordinary welsh people. Bit like how Britain created ‘Ghandi’- the Londoner who put on a ‘nappy’ and passed himself off as some kind of ‘primitive’ ‘indian’ guru.
By the way, decades ago the BBC had a cult children’s TV show called “Mr Benn” about an ordinary boring London City worker who would visit a fancy dress shop, put on a costume there, and become another person. The show was named for Tony Benn- a member of the British Deep State and upper aristocracy- who one day put on a flat cap, and effected a lower class accent, so he could take a command and control position in the (then) ‘dangerous’ Labour Party.
As ISIS proves, too many bored and disaffected kids are suckers for ‘dress-up’ leaders who preach ‘revolution’. These kids don’t have the brains or experience to truly believe in anything, but they’ll follow a trend to the ends of the Earth. This is why pop stars and other celebs that appeal to the young dress ‘strangely’ and act ‘strangely’.
So bad people have no difficulty raising yet another new ‘kurdish revolt’ on this psychological principle- but the kurds are always on a hiding to nowhere.
@Twilight
Oh I see “Ghandi was a Londoner” who later put on a nappy. in other words you’re implying Gandhi was a British agent and Brown Englishman who played “dress-up” to pretend to be a real Indian to fool the masses with his “costume”!
The funny thing about your theory, Mr. Twilight, is that’s exactly what extreme Indian Nationalists said about Gandhi at the time (and even today). How ironic that your theory dovetails with the conspiracy theories of India’s extreme right wing (some of whom use this reasoning to justify Gandhi’s assasination by Nathu Ram Godse.
Of course, they might not accept your ethnocentric ridicule of the dress code of India’s poorest villagers who the British had so savagely bled and robbed that a cotton cloth was all they could afford to clothe themselves. Shamelessness has no limit in dehumanizing victims by the beneficiaries of victimizers (like western Christians blaming the Orthodox for not supporting the crusades after the crusaders had just finished pillaging and burning Orthodox lands: rather than face the ugly truth, it’s easier to dehumanize and criticize the victim).
After writing the above response to “Twilight”, I realized I forgot to supply feedback on the article and subject of the Kurds. To that end I do apologize to the author of this excellent article.
This article on the subject of the Kurds was an eye-opener and provided insight that non-natives can’t easily get. So to stay on topic regarding the article: Thank you for the valuable insight.
Gandhi was not really minded by British leadership because he was the lesser of about three to six other evils.
His simple take on “going back to the village” with low tech meant that Indians would never become a threat to the British Empire.
And then most hopes of peace and progress were destroyed by the partition which was foolish for the Indian leaders to accept. Mountbatten and Brits high-tailed it out of the bloody country afterwards.
@ASP
The parasitical British Empire and their bungling idiot, Mountbatten*, didn’t hi-tail it out of the “bloody country”, rather, they “bloodied” the country with an engineered massacre, cleaving a barrier state (Pakistan) to serve their needs**, and then slithered out on a trail of slime made-up of murder, mayhem and self-righteous lies.
*Re Mountbatten being a bungling idiot:
look it up, he was Britain’s John McCain, responsible for sinking at least one British warship (among his many screw-ups) that I know of. Karma’s a bitch: he got an excruciating death at the hands of the IRA after being backstabbed by one of his own (what goes around comes around).
**Pakistan was created by British to cut India off from its natural trade links with Persia and to block free unfettered access to Iranian oil. But, as importantly, Pakistan’s existence ensured that the Soviets would never have direct access to a warm water port into the open ocean (the West knew that India was gravitating towards the Soviets, due to the views of its new ruling class).
Russia could get a warm water port in Pakistan. The relationship is warming up.
Also Pakistan is the real India in the sense of the etymology of the word. India comes from Indus river and in Persian and Arabic it is know as Hind and in Sanskrit as Sindh.
Also two states came into existence from the colonial entity known as British India: Pakistan and India.
Although India should really refer to the Land of the Indus.
Pakistan was an illegimate child of the West who was only birthed to service the geopolitical interests of the West. This was admitted to by the British and repeatedly alluded to by British PM clement atlee, Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon. The fantasy that Pakistan has a claim to the identity of India is denied by the Pakistanis themselves and this denial is their raison d’être and would get you laughed out of Pakistan (or worse), it cannot be taken seriously.
The reference, in the previous post, of three points, the first being that the reason behind creation of Pakistan was in part, to deny the Soviet Union direct land (Eurasian)access to a warm water port on the open ocean was in the context of the Cold War. The fact is that all three points were proven true during the Cold War: (1)Pakistan was a tool of the West, (2) it acted as a barrier state to hurt and hem in the Soviet Union (3) it acted as a western vassal to prevent natural trade routes between India & Iran as well as Central Asia.
In the present context, the idea that Russia and Pakistan have grown closer and that Putin can trust the Pakistanis to provide acces to a warm water port is really sad wishful thinking: Putin is a very intelligent man, that alone would preclude him from making deals with such an unreliable and unstable country. But Putin also has a moral center or is guided by principles, one of these principles is that he will not ally himself or depend on a state that gives succor to Salafist and Wahabist terrorists that threaten his southern flank and is a state whose leaders and military are so corrupt and mercenary, that in a heartbeat, for the right number of American dollars, they would pull the rug out from under Russia.
In any case, why would Russia waste time with Saudi and Wahabist influenced Pakistan when they now can access to the Indian Ocean via Iran and the newly operational Chahabar Port? Chahabar port phase 1 has now gone live and the first shipments of 1 million tonnes of Indian wheat to Afghanistan began last wee (bypassing Pakistan). The goods are shipping through a stable and secure Iran. Russia is one of the official beneficiaries of the Chahabar port project which is part of the Indo-Iranian-Russian North South corridor. Ironically, according to Pakistani media, even China has commented postively on
Chahabar (jointly developed with India) going operational last week, the implication being that the Chinese intend to use that port too for commercial purposes as well as an alternative if CPEC fails (which is most likely, see below). What’s even more ironic as even the US military (Gen Dunford), have commented positively on the activation of Chahabar port since it is crucial to the economic development of Afghanistan (Dunford was testifying as to why attacking Iran might be a bad idea if the US wants to meet its objectives in Afghanistan and he used the benefits of Chahabar Port as an example).
Meanwhile CPEC is only 6% complete and Pakistan is such a security mess that no part of the CPEC land route thru Pakistani Baluchistan or the NWFP is ever going to be secure (Gwadior Port is useless without the land/rail transport link to China). Things are only going from bad to worse for that state.
You do know that there is a difference, a VAST difference, between what the Establishment of Pakistan says and what the common Pakistani says about his identity.
It is factual that the River Indus is basically a Pakistani river and that is where the word Hind and India come from (whereas the great river of Bharat is called Ganges). It is unfortunate that the Muslims of British India were brainwashed by the British rule and to a lesser extent by the Mughal rule of taking a geographic term (Hindu and Hindustan) and exclusively making it a religious one. No where in the Vedas does it refer to Hinduism or Hindus as these terms.
It is a good thing that many Pakistanis are rediscovering their roots and history. Rather it is Bharat which claims the identifty of the Land of the Indus by calling herself India. Quaid e Azaam Muhammad Ali Jiinah did ask the leadership of Bharat to not use “India” as the official name as its origins are from coterminous Pakistan.
**Do not forget that two states came into existence at the same time from British India: Pakistan and India (Bharat). Both are the same age. Both have history going back millennia and a significant part of “Indian” civilization originates in coterminous Pakistan.**
As to Pakistani acting as a client state/buffer state of the West, yes, in the past, however we are witnessing a shift away from the West and I also hope away from Saudi Arabia. (At the same time, the RSS PM Modi of Bharat, may be shifting towards the West?)
If China and Pakistan can secure the CPEC project, (which they are trying to against all the odds eg. NATO covertly arming ISIS version 2.0 in Afghanistan), CPEC has gigantic potential and it would beneficial for Russia to also take part in this.
Regarding things going bad to worse in Pakistan, on the contrary, they have gotten better. Remember the late 2000’s and early 2010’s? Bomb blasts in major cities EVERY day. Now after the military operations against the Kawarij proxy groups, this has reduced considerably and stability is improving. Although the next plan in this asymmetric war is being laid down with the NATO covertly succoring ISIS in Afghanistan, so expect more bombings in Pakistan again!
While in Iraq the Kurdish agenda is in real trouble, in Syria they are in a better position. Kurdish of Syria have what the ISIS didn’t have Full air support of NATO including B-52 heavy bombers. The Kurdish artillery is totally from NATO and operated by NATO, so it is hard for me to believe that Syria and (Russia, Iran, even Turkey) can solve anything by force, unless by a political agreement behind CLOSED DOORS.
The Kurds in Syria are the latest tool used in Syria.They will be discarded like the Iraqi Kurds once they pass their sell by date and usefulness.
The Kurds (about 1.5 mill) can’t ransack areas beyond that of Rojava and expand into Deir Ezzor…..as it would unite most Syrians against them.
This is a possibility, but only after NATO would reach the goal, Regime Change in Syria. Kurds of Syria are irrelevant, but NATO now, has a foothold in Syria, and I believe that chances to use force against NATO are slim or None.
ya, just like NATO came to the rescue of their footsoldiers ISIS. come on, any kind of Kurdistan, anywhere is a hallucination at best. Sprouted and fed by the infamous Jewish state.
The Kurds are effectively surrounded by peoples that don’t appreciate back-stabbing.
It over, there will not be a ;kurdistan’. in any shape, or form. They blew their wad in a silly manner just like Jews did with their gangster, forced creation of Israel ( by U.N. fiat)
The Kurds of the region need desperately to get in the business of apologizing for their betrayal of peoples that took them in.
Thank you for such an enlightening look at the Kurdish situation. It seems that there is more to this story than I’ve been lead to believe. I’ll have to look into this further using your article as my Google search road map.
Oh no, not the old cracked “Assad Must Go!” record again.
1. “Last weekend, on a trip to the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson presided over what may turn out to have been a landmark meeting between Iraqi and Saudi leaders — one that signals a notable rapprochement between two longtime adversaries.”
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/25/tillerson-notches-rare-diplomatic-win-with-saudis-and-iraq/
2. “US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the “reign of the Assad family” in Syria is coming to an end, and the “only issue is how that can be brought about.”
https://www.rt.com/news/407855-tillerson-syria-assad-russia/
There seems a strong causal correlation between personal interactions with the undemocratic
and now self confessed Wahhabi slide into fundamentalism during the “reign of the Saud family” and feeding the MSM with this little dying mantra. There is little doubt that personal and corporate $$$ gain is involved.
The interesting common notion, never highlighted but always implied, is that the people of a region cannot make their own democratic choice — as they have done a number of times in Syria. All the Syrian people need to do to break this brittle idol of oligarchy and ‘smiling’ (read leering) tyranny is to continue to democratically vote in the Assad family and support the Dr of Ophthalmology in his work to re-unit Syrian peoples into a viable unit.
Yes this continual public proclamation from usa should only reinforce the intention for Russia to finally back Syria’s wishes and give usa and false coalition 48 hours to totally leave Syria…and prosecute them as a terrorist country and for war reparations. It is time usa military and CIA sponsors were totally and publicly humiliated,as more and more evidence now comes forward proving their long term ambitions re Syria.
Fascinating, excellent, very informative. No wonder israel supported the referendum, even the U.S. didn’t. Can you do me a favor and write a part two to this article about the Syrian and Turkish Kurds with the same level of detail? That would be great, thank you. Btw, my dad’s name is Aram and his parents were from Kesab, Syria, an Armenian Christian enclave.
“There are some facts about the Kurds that need to be addressed. 1- The Kurdish language is divided into several dialects that are not mutually intelligible. 2- All Kurds do not share the same religion, while many are Sunni Muslim, a sizeable minority are Shias, Yezidi, Alevi, Christians and even Jews. 3- All Kurds do not share the same ideology and dream of statehood. There are many Kurdish parties that seek different goals, depending on ideology, geographical location and history.”
A fair description of America and Americans actually.
1) The American language is divided into several dialects that are not mutally intelligible.
Ever try to hear a person from Boston or a New England fisherman try to hold a conversation with someone from Alabama? Or perhaps tried to talk with an inner-city African-American? Heck, most American parents would tell you that their children speak a dialect that is not mutally intelligible.
2) All Americans do not share the same religion.
OMG, its true.
3) All Americans do not share the same idealogy.
In the last election, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump can be given as examples, and they were the two most popular candidates. And if I wanted to do some research, it seems like there were other Republicans even stranger than what Trump has turned out to be. And Bernie Sanders doesn’t come close in being far-left. I’d describe his as an old 1970’s Democrat. To my old ears, Bernie Sanders sounded like Ted Kennedy’s 1980 campaign against Jimmy Carter. Since I’ve met and drank beer and organized with some real socialists and communists in my lifetime, I know that the political spectrum in America goes a lot further left than Col. Sanders.
And, all of the above was true even back during America’s Revolution against those nasty, racist English rulers and in the years that followed. I suppose that the advantage that perhaps America had in those days was that it lie on the outskirts of the western-Europe centered western world and thus got away with it.
Just saying, that’s all. Actually, I’d say most modern countries fail the same test listed above.
Thanks for the article!!!!!!! :)
But you forgot the most important fact. Both Americans and Kurds are controlled by NATO ( Hegemon). Both Americans and Kurds are helping the hegemon to establish the Globalism (Unipolar World). There is not another powerful entity to stop NATO. The empires expand until someone stops them to do so. Atila the Hun.
There was only one isolated case, where the hegemon Rotated 1 million solders, Dropped 1 Billion Bombs, Spent 1 Trillion Dollars, lost more than 50 thousands troops, killed 3 million Vietnamese and was defeated. But at the time the Soviet Union was still strong (at least as State Capitalism) and the Incredible Vietnamese people endured enormous punishment. Using a unique terrain, they never blinked or folded, but always stud vertically, won the war and got their Nation Back. The Syria is different. First most of the country is flat, the Syrian are divided, tribal and there isn’t enough will to fight and die for their land. There are many foreign solders from (Iran, Lebanon, Palestine …) and the young Syrians prefer to flee their nation instead fighting for it. This never happened in Vietnam. As for the last option that can bother Hegemon (Nuclear War), since the time of Khrushchev a new doctrine was established. They treated the West as partner and they decided not to bother the West, because that can trigger a Nuclear war. In the new era the Illusion, Deception and Diversion is in perfected State of the Art. The Russian people are indoctrinated and they dream to get back what was lost at 1991. This is part of the strategy of World Occupation by the Hegemon.
“Это Родина моя” Пётр Матрёничев и Вика Цыганова.
https://youtu.be/uHsjrcOoHkM
America is controlled by NATO. That’s an interesting notion, but I suspect most people would say it the other way around. NATO is controlled by America. That would seem to be the opinion behind the whole drive for an “EU Army”.
America is not controlled by its people. America is controlled by the people with big money. And ‘big money’ means a lot more than say a Trump with his measly couple of billion. If you want to look for who controlls America, looking to places like Goldman Sachs is a better bet. Or go to places like the winter-time Davos Forums. Ideas and formations like NATO or Israel exist and are controlled because they are useful and make lots of money for the people who already have lots of money.
America makes no secret who controls it, even if its not publicly proclaimed every day. But its obvious that in America, money can buy anything, including America.
US Military is under the control of UN & NATO – NOT Congress!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIrpToGU6D4
Published on Mar 9, 2012
This is amazing video from Senator Sessions. It reveals the position our present Administration takes on the subject of going to war. They don’t need or consider Congress. Only the UN and NATO. Our sons and daughters are being shipped off to war, without our representatives in Congress even getting to discuss it!
you must have foirgotten Afghanistan, where NATO/U.S. has been getting hammered and routed for 17 years now by a bunch of guys wearing beach sandals and bed-sheets, armed with AK-47’s and a few IED’s.
Sorry, but NATO/U.S. had to ‘buy’ its way out of Iraq, to forstall a massive defeat. That was the ‘surge’ that was so heavily advertised by western media.
With that said, you mean to tell me that NATO/U.S. will fare any better against a Shia Crescent of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and their Assyrian and Christain communities who have come together to liberate their lands.
How do you want to be taken seriously by stating that the Syrian people do not have the will to fight for their country, when they have been fighting a brutal war of attrition with a zealous enemy supported by western/Israeli power, not to mention Gulf Arab lackeys?
Sorry, the Syrian people have more than proved themselves to be brave, hardened , strong willed people that will overcome any international conspiracy and then some. Soon, the , by now distilled down to the best fighting force in the world, along with Hezbollah, who also has grown enormous muscles in Syria, will be off to liberate the Golan and parts and occupied Palestine eventually.
Israel’s time is up, they couldn’t even last more than 33 days against Hezbollah in 2006. And the Levant Arabs are back, strong and united.
Shalom
The headline should read:
—– How Barzani Lost His High Stakes Gamble. —–
The Kurdish combat forces pulled back from exposed areas with limited casualties and is still combat effective. Tehran/Bagdad has no direct control inside of most of northern Iraqi. And, no practical method to impose their will by force, unless Iran is willing to openly commit large numbers of troops.
Barzani is likely to be forced out and new Kurdish leaders will emerge. But, that does not mean Shia rule of the North. The underlying issues and Balance of Forces will continue to push towards a logical and hopefully peaceful solution. Most likely, regional autonomy short of independence.
I totally agree with You. Game is not over yet. Too soon to celebrate ?!!! : )
The most comprehensive logical analysis yet of the current Kurdish situation. Kudos Aram Mirzaei.
Mr Mirzael, i can´t get into my head one simple thing.
Why the hell did the Russkies, plus Assad plus the iranians choose to LOSE the beyong Euphrates war to the crooky franty indispensables?
That´s what they in fact did in just the last 3 or 4 weeks.
With the oil fields altogether.
And in exchange for whaaaaat?
In my opinion, the most important National, or International decision, are reached behind closed doors.
I don’t understand it either but what I do understand is Russia plays a LONG game.
I thought Tillerson was smarter than that when he insisted of no future for Bashar al Assad.
My explanation is that the USA wants to get the Saudis back under their wings as they see the Saudi king been heavily courted by Russia. Calling for Bashar al Assad removal is music to the Saudis. Yet I doubt they will believe the USA and anyway Tillerson may be on his way out. Syria is a debacle and North Korea sounds like another diplomatic failure for the USA.
If Tillerson knows that his time is limited, then no wonder he just says anything!