U.S. Troubles Move North

[Spazito]

ARBIL, Iraq (news - web sites), Jun 10 (IPS) - And now the United States is running into difficulties in Northern Iraq where it has enjoyed the support of the largely Kurd population.


Since the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites) whole swaths of Northern Iraq have been controlled by two Kurdish militias, the guerrilla armies of Masoud Barzani's Kurdistan Demoratic Party (KDP) and Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). With that has come autonomy and a guarantee of cultural rights. Now, Kurdish leaders are concerned all that could end.


The United Nations (news - web sites) Security Council resolution approved in New York this week makes no mention of the rights of Kurds, and appears to scrap the interim constitution which gave the Kurdish region veto power in a permanent constitution.

snip

In their letter to Bush, Talabani and Barzani wrote that the Kurdish leadership would refuse to take part in national elections expected to be held in January next year, and bar officials from entering Kurdistan if their demands were not met.

more

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=oneworld/6573879071086879389

[cjbuchanan]

1. Why not piss everyone off

The Kurds were the only people who liked the US. Good thing Bush & Co. are doing their best to piss them off. I mean they are perfectionists and only having 2 out of 3 is not good enough.

Go Bush & Co. Go!

[Beetwasher]

2. Gee, Who Could Have Predicted This?

:eyes:

[cliss]

3. As much as I dislike him,

I'm thinking about Colon Powell right now. What were his words?

"You go in there, and it will be yours. You'll own that country".

Well George, it looks like you just got yourself a very big family. And it's all yours.

Have fun.

[psychopomp]

4. Kurds have been jittery the last few weeks

Threatened to pull out what, last week? and we cut a deal. They are still waiting to see if they will get what they want so it sounds like they are still vying for political power, which keeps them from breaking off. Shiites don't want to give Kurds veto power in the new Iraq. Does anybody have anthing left to offer that has not been put on the table already?

[struggle4progress]

5. Bush should retire to Bagdad in 2005.

Then he can explain to the Iraqis exactly what he was thinking ...