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| Iraq |
| Barzani Resigns as Iraq and Iran Threaten Kurdistan's Border Crossings |
| 2017-10-30 |
| [ISW] Key Takeaway: Iraq and Iran rejected a Kurdish ceasefire offer and launched a new phase of their military campaign against Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraqi forces and Iran’s proxies are prepared for new military operations to seize Iraqi Kurdistan's border crossings if Kurdish forces do not relinquish them. Iranian proxy leaders are coordinating with Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) commanders and may even direct the military operation, if it occurs. It will begin at the Fishkhabur crossing between Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria, where Iran's proxies including the Badr Organization and Asa'ib Ahl al Haq are deployed. Negotiations are underway after Prime Minister Abadi set a deadline for the handover of the crossings on October 28th, but there has been no sign of a Kurdish withdrawal. Kurdistan Regional Government President Masoud Barzani announced he will not seek an extension of his term past November 1st in a letter to the Kurdish Parliament on October 29th. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #8 Barzani is a moron. He has just defeated ISIS, enjoys the beneficence of a grateful nation (the U.S.), and has the whip hand in Iraqi politics. He could have led the Kurdish provinces into a super-special autonomous region with defacto independence, which would be accepted by everyone in a decade or two. But, instead he goes for a territory grab for Kirkuk's oil fields. Of course he was whipped by the people who are stealing the money. His failure here shows his greed and incompetence. I am sad for the valiant Kurdish people, who deserve better leaders. Their permanent independence would have been far more valuable than any money they might have gotten from a depleting oil field. Sad. Just Sad. |
| Posted by: rammer 2017-10-30 21:47 |
| #7 Meanwhile, Jewish exiles from Europe, malnourished and fresh off an attempt to exterminate them, held off the combined Arab armies after a mere three years of the initial large scale Holocaust survivor settlements in Mandatory Palestine. Given that much of their weaponry came from cash-and-carry purchases from the Soviet Bloc, it's a testament to Ben-Gurion's skill and native intelligence and that of his compatriots that they managed this military miracle. What's even more impressive is that they managed to create an economically viable state out of the mostly barren sands of what is now Israel. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2017-10-30 19:46 |
| #6 The Kurds enjoyed a quarter century under Pax Americana in relative peace and yet could not fashion a viable economy, state or military. Its leaders (and their progeny) should be forced into exile. Their removal from the local gene pool would improve the evolutionary fitness of the Kurdish people. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2017-10-30 19:34 |
| #5 Yea, we got it on a silver platter. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2017-10-30 17:27 |
| #4 It was stupid to do the referendum without a worst case war plan. And if they had war gamed the ensuing festivities, they would have recognized that the Shiite material advantage required counters they had not developed. But then again this guy's incompetence is not exactly some dark secret. He had over 25 years to build a self-sufficient state, and he dropped the ball repeatedly. Whereas Israel came into being from a standing start and almost immediately defeated the combined Arab armies. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2017-10-30 17:05 |
| #3 Why, Bangladeshians! |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-10-30 16:27 |
| #2 Iraqi forces and Iran’s proxies. and ---> who are |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2017-10-30 12:22 |
| #1 So, in the guise of 'Autonomous Rule' the US has given away Iraq to Iraqi forces and Iran’s proxies. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-10-30 11:52 |