Barzani sees Kirkuk joining an Iraqi Kurdistan

[bemildred]

DAMASCUS - One of the main Kurdish leaders in Iraq, Massoud Barzani, said on Monday he was sure the northern oil city of Kirkuk would become a part of a largely autonomous Kurdistan within Iraq.

"We are sure that once the situation in Kirkuk is normalised, the organisation of a referendum will show that the vast majority of inhabitants are Kurds.

"We are sure consequently that Kirkuk will return to (Iraqi) Kurdistan," Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), told a news conference in the Syrian capital as he wound up a three-day visit.

Earlier this month, hundreds of Kurds demonstrated in Kirkuk to call for a referendum on the city's status, but it has yet to be confirmed whether such a plebiscite will take place.

Middle East Online

[Kagemusha]

1. Uh... once we're done ethnic cleansing, you'll see there's more Kurds.

I think I read a fantasy about Japanese troops voting in a referendum on Guam after taking it over militarily in some Tom Clancy book...

[alfredo]

2. The Turks do not want the Kurds to control the oil and the

proceeds from that oil. They fear they will fund the Kurdish rebels in Turkey.

The Sunnis want the oil, and so do the US oil barons.

I have long said the Kurds could be the wild card in this war.

[The Magistrate]

3. Kirkuk Is Kurdish, Sir

One way or another, it and the oil around it will be attached to any "Kurdistan" actually realized....

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[bemildred]

6. Yeah, actually I thought he was trying to calm things down. nt

[lynx rufus]

4. There shall never be a Kurdistan

Turkey must be appeased and the Sunni population
shall not be denied. Long term, short term, or in between;
the Kurds will find themselves alone without a country.

[MADem]

5. You know those unguarded ammo dumps?

Don't rule those Kurds out. There may not be a 'true' Kurdistan that comprises the historical territories of Iran and Iraq along the Zagros, and eastern Turkey, but I would not count those guys out, ever. They are tough--and Massoud Barzani is the son of the George Washington of the Kurdish movement.

Everyone seems to think it wuz the 'terrists' and 'insurgents' who looted the Iraqi army ammo dumps. It would not surprise me if a lot of that stuff is stashed up in the high reaches of the Zagros.

The Kurds went down into Kirkuk and kicked a shitload of people out of 'their' homes--basically, they were taking back what Saddam had stolen from them. The US forces tried to stop them, but stepped back when the Kurds said "Hey, dudes, we love ya, but we will kill you too." The oil assets in and around Kirkuk will form the basis of their nation building efforts--they have been fucked over many times--after WW2, by NIXON, after GW1...they are not gonna get fooled again.

Turkey has no oil, and their cold war role as the cannon fodder to prevent the Soviets from taking the oil is done. They are operating on historical friendships and sucking up to Europe to keep their place in the world. They do have utility as a global crossroad and outlet to the sea, but Islamic influence in their government isn't helping them, and even their army has some troubling characters (and the ARMY is the outfit that TAKES OVER every time the civilian government gets out of line). Turkey has a tough balancing act, they are hobbled by Europe on the one hand, the Islamists on the other, and a civilian population that is sick of all that shit.

Add to that, the Kurds do nothing but screw, and reproduce at a startling rate. The status quo cannot hold forever.

[catmandu57]

7. You're right

There is a defacto Kurdistan now and nobody, not the Turks, not the neocons, anyone can stop them now, they will be a new force to be reckoned with.