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| Iraq | |
| Kurds Warn Against Delaying Kirkuk Referendum | |
| 2006-12-20 | |
However, as Iraq prepares itself for what is expected to be a difficult and sensitive process, the recommendations by the U.S. Iraq Study Group and increased warnings by Turkey to postpone the referendum have alarmed Kurdish leaders. Kurdish officials have recently issued warnings that any postponement of the referendum could plunge the relatively peaceful Kurdish north into chaos. The Iraq Study Group described the Kirkuk situation as a "powder keg" and recommended that the referendum planned for 2007 be delayed. Kurdish leaders reacted angrily and assailed the group's recommendation, calling it an affront to Iraq's sovereignty, particularly since the Kirkuk referendum is enshrined in the constitution Iraqi President Jalal Talabani directly referred to this incident when reacting to the Iraq Study Group report. "We smell in this report the attitude of James Baker in the aftermath of the war in Kuwait," he said, referring to the U.S. decision not to assist the Kurds during the rebellion nor to overthrow Hussein when Baker was secretary of state under former President George Bush. Turkey has repeatedly expressed its unease over the Iraqi Kurds' bid to annex Kirkuk, which the Turks believe could form the foundation for a strong economy that could eventually fund the Iraqi Kurds' bid to establish an independent Kurdish state. Ankara fears that a Kurdish state would become a focal point of Kurdish nationalism and incite its own Kurdish population to seek autonomy. Secession by the Kurds would present a disastrous scenario that could ignite a regional conflict. Iraq's fragmentation would greatly increase the likelihood of Turkish military intervention, not only to prevent its own Kurdish population from seceding, but also to protect northern Iraq's Turkoman population, who are ethnic Turks. | |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #4 We owe the Kurds the right to live peacefully. The Kurds have demonstrated they can conduct affairs in a prosperous manner. These f**kin' Turks shit on us in 2003. I would tell them that if any of their soldiers are seen in kurdish territory we (US) will specifically see that they do not return. |
| Posted by: SpecOp35 2006-12-20 18:27 |
| #3 Surely the Turks know better than to intervene militarily when the US has boots on the ground. We'd be forced to take a hand in things if that happened (hopefully, if there's any logic at all in the world, on the side of the Kurds). The Turks may have a reputation for toughness, but I don't think they're anywhere close to the US Army and Marines, especially battle-hardened troops we have there. |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2006-12-20 13:29 |
| #2 Kirkuk shall belong to the Kurds. You will not for forsake them Three times. They are owed land via UN resolution (whatever that means anymore). So, there is the monkey in the wrench. |
| Posted by: closedanger@hotmail.com 2006-12-20 01:16 |
| #1 Whatever Baker says do the opposite, screw him and his Saudi masters, screw them right into the ground. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2006-12-20 00:57 |