Looking for Friends in the Middle East: Try the Kurds

[High_Gravity]

Looking for Friends in the Middle East: Try the Kurds

Angry mobs recently attacked U.S. diplomatic facilities in dozens of countries, but not everyone in the Muslim world hates America. More than 25 million Kurds in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey are largely secular and pro-Western. Kurds understand that democracy and individual rights are compatible with Islamic values. The United States should take steps to consolidate friendly relations with the Kurds. U.S.-Kurdish rapprochement would serve as a counter-weight to political demagogy and Islamist extremism. It can also leverage reforms in countries where Kurds reside.

A steely-eyed approach is needed towards governments in the region. Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has shunned U.S. interests. He also pursues polarizing policies, which fuel sectarian and ethnic conflict between Iraqis. Baghdad scorns Iraq's constitution, preferring confrontation to power-sharing. It systematically encroaches on Kurdish territory, inflaming tensions along "disputed internal boundaries." The Iraqi Government uses its security apparatus to trample the rights of Iraq's Sunnis and target political opponents. Acting as a proxy for Iran, it facilitates the transfer of weapons from Tehran to Syria.


In contrast, Iraqi Kurds are unabashedly pro-American. Not a single American has died in Iraqi Kurdistan since Saddam's overthrow in 2003. Iraqi Kurdistan has functioning democratic institutions, a vibrant civil society and an independent media. While corruption is still a problem, Iraqi Kurdistan is less corrupt than most neighbors.

Iraqi Kurds are America's best and only friends in Iraq. To further strengthen U.S.-Kurdish amity, the United States should deepen security cooperation with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). While Baghdad rejected a status of forces agreement with the United States, the KRG welcomes it. The Pentagon should cancel its sale of Abrams-A1 tanks and F-16 fighter jets to Baghdad. Such weapons will most likely be used against Iraqis, rather than to protect Iraq from Iran and other rogue regimes with which Baghdad has cozy relations.

The KRG's relations with Turkey have vastly improved since it started sharing intelligence on the PKK, a terrorist organization with remote bases in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. Working hand-in-hand with Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan may one day become the Eastern flank of NATO.

The United States also stands to gain economically by partnering with the KRG. Iraqi Kurdistan has a booming economy and huge energy reserves, including 45 billion barrels of oil. U.S. energy companies should be encouraged to develop Iraqi Kurdistan's oil and natural gas fields notwithstanding Baghdad's objections.

David L. Phillips: Looking for Friends in the Middle East: Try the Kurds

 

[mememe]

What a kindergarten mentality!
In politics there are no "friends".

 

[High_Gravity]

What a kindergarten mentality!
In politics there are no "friends".

Shut the fuck you dumb ****.

 

[mememe]

bla.

:

You can't be angry at the truth, so dry your eyes, princess.

 

[High_Gravity]

bla.

:

You can't be angry at the truth, so dry your eyes, princess.

 

[rdean]

Kurds are another sect of the Sunni. They are not our friends. They are friends of other Kurds.