Only Bright Spot In The Iraq War: Iraq's Kurds Likely To Vote On Independence...

[paulitician]

Good for them. The Kurds have been brutally oppressed by the Arabs, Turks, and Persians for Centuries. Their time has finally come. They stuck with us throughout the most horrific times of the War. This is the only positive i can acknowledge coming out of the Iraq War. But will our Government sell them out? I guess we'll see.


Iraqi Kurds will hold a referendum regarding whether or not to declare independence from the war-torn state within months, according to Kurdish leader Massud Barzani. (Related: Former CIA Chief: Iraq Doesn’t Exist)

Iraq is currently in the midst of turmoil as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), makes advances towards Baghdad. ISIS recently declared an Islamic caliphate covering borders stretching from Syria to eastern Iraq. (Related: Don’t Be Alarmed But Radical Muslims Just Declared Their Own Empire Across Much Of The Middle East)

Barzani said the time was right for the referendum as Kurds in the north face more violence by ISIS. However, Barzani said he did not know when the vote would take place and parliament would ultimately have to respect the decision.

“We will hold a referendum in Kurdistan and we will respect and be bound by the decision of our people and hope that others will do likewise,” Barzani told the BBC...

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/07/01/i...-independence-in-coming-months/#ixzz36EY52DZV

 

[kaz]

Good for them. The Kurds have been brutally oppressed by the Arabs, Turks, and Persians for Centuries. Their time has finally come. They stuck with us throughout the most horrific times of the War. This is the only positive i can acknowledge coming out of the Iraq War. But will our Government sell them out? I guess we'll see.

I thought we agreed in prior discussions that we both support Kurdish independence, but we do not believe it's our government's job to use our military to give it to them. So what does our government selling them out mean exactly?

 

[paulitician]

Good for them. The Kurds have been brutally oppressed by the Arabs, Turks, and Persians for Centuries. Their time has finally come. They stuck with us throughout the most horrific times of the War. This is the only positive i can acknowledge coming out of the Iraq War. But will our Government sell them out? I guess we'll see.

I thought we agreed in prior discussions that we both support Kurdish independence, but we do not believe it's our government's job to use our military to give it to them. So what does our government selling them out mean exactly?

They fought bravely side by side with us throughout the most brutal times of the War. They're our only real friend over there. I hope our Government doesn't do anything to sell them out. If a vote does go to the UN, i would hope our Government wouldn't oppose them.

 

[kaz]

Good for them. The Kurds have been brutally oppressed by the Arabs, Turks, and Persians for Centuries. Their time has finally come. They stuck with us throughout the most horrific times of the War. This is the only positive i can acknowledge coming out of the Iraq War. But will our Government sell them out? I guess we'll see.

I thought we agreed in prior discussions that we both support Kurdish independence, but we do not believe it's our government's job to use our military to give it to them. So what does our government selling them out mean exactly?

They fought bravely side by side with us throughout the most brutal times of the War. They're our only real friend over there. I hope our Government doesn't do anything to sell them out. If a vote does go to the UN, i would hope our Government wouldn't oppose them.

OK, I would agree with that. I would also hope we advise them and provide logistical assistance. I just don't want the troops back over there again in that endless quagmire.

 

[paulitician]

I thought we agreed in prior discussions that we both support Kurdish independence, but we do not believe it's our government's job to use our military to give it to them. So what does our government selling them out mean exactly?

They fought bravely side by side with us throughout the most brutal times of the War. They're our only real friend over there. I hope our Government doesn't do anything to sell them out. If a vote does go to the UN, i would hope our Government wouldn't oppose them.

OK, I would agree with that. I would also hope we advise them and provide logistical assistance. I just don't want the troops back over there again in that endless quagmire.

Oh, definitely no troops. Our Government just shouldn't oppose them. We don't need to intervene to help them gain independence. We only need not oppose their effort. I would say we owe them that.

 

[waltky]

Another oil war in the offing...

Is the Dream Of Kurdish Independence Now Over?
October 17, 2017 - The independence dream of Iraq’s Kurds may be over. It was felled by a lightening advance by Iraqi counter-terror units, trained and equipped by the United States, and Shi’ite militias, trained and equipped by Iran, who seized the disputed city Kirkuk and its surrounding oilfields after isolated skirmishes and a withdrawal order by Peshmerga commanders.

The Peshmerga commanders either had no stomach for a fight or had already entered into a secret deal with the central government in Baghdad to retreat. Amid accusations of betrayal, Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa, the Peshmerga commander of 70 Force, a key unit charged with the defense of Kirkuk’s southern approaches, said he had ordered his men to withdraw to protect their lives in the face of overwhelming forces.

“I bear all the responsibilities – in success and failure,” Mustafa told the Kurdish news outlet Rudaw. He dismissed claims there was a prior deal by some Peshmerga commanders to allow the Iraqi army to enter the city “without a fight.”

In Washington, as the advance into Kirkuk unfolded, a U.S. defense spokesman told reporters Iraqi forces the United States is “monitoring movements of military vehicles and personnel in the vicinity of Kirkuk.” He added: “These movements of military vehicles so far have been coordinated movements, not attacks.” Col. Rob Manning added: “We are aware of reports of a limited exchange of fire…and we believe this to have been an isolated incident,” he said of media reports of fighting between Iraqi and Kurdish fighters.

In Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, rival Kurdish factions blamed each other for the loss of Kirkuk and surrounding oilfields, holding out the prospect of Kurd-on-Kurd retaliation. In Kirkuk, there were some incidents of local Kurds angry with the withdrawal firing at retreating Peshmerga.

Who’s Fighting?

See also:

Iraqi forces take control of all oil fields operated by state-owned North Oil in Kirkuk
October 17, 2017 - Iraqi forces completed an operation to take control of all oil fields operated by state-owned North Oil Company in the Kirkuk region on Tuesday, a senior military officer said.

Iraqi forces took control of the Bai Hasan and Avana oil fields northwest of Kirkuk on Tuesday, after seizing the Baba Gurgur, Jambur and Khabbaz fields on Monday, he said. Oil officials in Baghdad said all the fields were operating normally. The fields were previously held by Kurdish security forces known as Peshmerga, but they pulled out of the area in the face of an advance by forces of the Iraqi central government.

Tuesday’s deployment of Iraqi government forces in Dibis, where Bai Hasan and Avana are located, is part of an operation ordered by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to take control of Kurdish-held areas outside the three provinces that form Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.

Iraqi forces take control of all oil fields operated by state-owned North Oil in Kirkuk

Related:

Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal criticize US inaction on Kirkuk
16 Oct.`17 | WASHINGTON DC – Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) on Monday criticized the Trump administration’s hands-off attitude toward Iraq’s assault on Kirkuk.

Graham issued a statement, saying, “I’m very concerned about ongoing developments in Iraq regarding reports that the Iraqi military and Shia militias are advancing on Kurdish interests around Kirkuk.” “This has the potential to further destabilize the region and expand the war in Iraq,” his statement continued, “all of which strengthens the hand of Iran.” Graham’s Congressional colleagues, including Senators John McCain (R-Arizona) and Chuck Schumer (D-New York) also faulted Trump’s passive approach to the conflict between Baghdad and Erbil, which the US President articulated in a press conference Monday afternoon, as he stated, “We don’t like the fact that they’re clashing,” but “we’re not taking sides.” Baghdad has the superior military equipment—supplied by the US—and the seeming US neutrality is, in effect, a tilt toward Iraq and against the Kurds.

Like McCain, Graham sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, as does Blumenthal who voiced his criticism of the Trump administration’s policy on Monday evening. Asked by CNN host, Wolf Blitzer, to comment on Trump’s remark earlier that day about “not taking sides,” Blumenthal responded that “two of our allies” in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), “Iraq and the Kurds, the Peshmerga, which have been ferocious fighters” are now fighting among themselves, “and we ought to be mediating.” Blumenthal continued, “We ought to take an active role in trying to bring together these two allies in the area, so we focus on the enemy that we share.” Thus, criticism of the administration is bipartisan, although the Republicans’ critique seems to place greater emphasis on Iran’s considerable influence in Baghdad and its role in the assault on Kirkuk.

John Bolton, a conservative thinker since his college days at Yale and, much later, US ambassador to the UN under President George W. Bush, supported the Kurdistan independence referendum even before the September 25 vote, as he stated in an interview with Kurdistan24. On Monday, Bolton explained to Breitbart News Daily Sirius XM host Alex Marlow, “Iraqi government forces and Shia militias dominated by Iran” were involved in the attack on Kirkuk. “Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Forces, is actually in the Kirkuk area coordinating the Iran-dominated military effort against the Kurds,” Bolton said. “I wish we could get through to the White House and say, ‘You should support Kurdish independence,’” Bolton explained, “because Iran – our enemy in the region – is now attacking Kurds, our best friend. We are doing nothing. It’s a tragedy.”

Washington’s highly-regarded Institute for the Study of War noted that “Iran’s role in the offensive [on Kirkuk] further strengthens its influence within Iraq, sidelines the US, and will increase Arab Shiite popular support for Iranian-backed candidates in Iraq’s upcoming elections, currently scheduled for April 2018.” The Institute also noted, “Iran’s use of an Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP) against U.S. forces in Salah al-Din Province, southwest of Kirkuk, on October 1 likely signals Iran’s resolve to use force to deter the US from taking a direct military role.” Since the US did not intend to intervene in the Iraqi-Kurdish conflict, Tehran may have failed to understand US policy. Or, perhaps, it has some other objective in mind, such as making the US presence in Iraq untenable, once IS is defeated.

http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/0505e6e4-ffc6-4761-be29-e94d429d5f6b

 

[AntonToo]

Iraq will never let Kurds simply take the oil and go their way.

There can be some sort of oil sharing deal heavily favoring Iraq, but there was is no evidence Kurds would be interested.

 

[Two Thumbs]

Good for them. The Kurds have been brutally oppressed by the Arabs, Turks, and Persians for Centuries. Their time has finally come. They stuck with us throughout the most horrific times of the War. This is the only positive i can acknowledge coming out of the Iraq War. But will our Government sell them out? I guess we'll see.


Iraqi Kurds will hold a referendum regarding whether or not to declare independence from the war-torn state within months, according to Kurdish leader Massud Barzani. (Related: Former CIA Chief: Iraq Doesn’t Exist)

Iraq is currently in the midst of turmoil as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), makes advances towards Baghdad. ISIS recently declared an Islamic caliphate covering borders stretching from Syria to eastern Iraq. (Related: Don’t Be Alarmed But Radical Muslims Just Declared Their Own Empire Across Much Of The Middle East)

Barzani said the time was right for the referendum as Kurds in the north face more violence by ISIS. However, Barzani said he did not know when the vote would take place and parliament would ultimately have to respect the decision.

“We will hold a referendum in Kurdistan and we will respect and be bound by the decision of our people and hope that others will do likewise,” Barzani told the BBC...

Read more: Iraq’s Kurds Likely To Vote On Independence In Coming Months

Good for them, I hope they gain their freedom.

Only real allies we have over there.

 

[Two Thumbs]

I thought we agreed in prior discussions that we both support Kurdish independence, but we do not believe it's our government's job to use our military to give it to them. So what does our government selling them out mean exactly?

They fought bravely side by side with us throughout the most brutal times of the War. They're our only real friend over there. I hope our Government doesn't do anything to sell them out. If a vote does go to the UN, i would hope our Government wouldn't oppose them.

OK, I would agree with that. I would also hope we advise them and provide logistical assistance. I just don't want the troops back over there again in that endless quagmire.

Oh, definitely no troops. Our Government just shouldn't oppose them. We don't need to intervene to help them gain independence. We only need not oppose their effort. I would say we owe them that.

and a train load of weapons and ammo.