Article

2007-09-07 Iraq

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Steve White 2007-09-07 00:00|| || Front Page|| [2 views ] Top
File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1 Last I checked, this tribe is owed their own country by the UN.

Posted by newc">newc 2007-09-07 05:09|| 2007-09-07 05:09|| Front Page Top

#2 Maybe Iraq really should be split three ways. I certainly support the Kurds getting their own state!

Posted by anon1 2007-09-07 05:21|| 2007-09-07 05:21|| Front Page Top

#3 Ethnic regionalism within a federation makes sense.
However, common sense has no currency in the Middle East. But, I don't think that landlocked, Turk hating Kurds will seccede.

Posted by McZoid 2007-09-07 05:39|| 2007-09-07 05:39|| Front Page Top

#4 Kurdistan needs to be ready for enlargement. If Iran and Syria fight the US, then their Kurdish territories may be forfeit to greater Kurdistan. In turn, this may make Kurdistan too large to remain in Iraq.

Fortunately, the Kurds and Arabs are pretty cleanly divided, so they might be able to split peacefully, much like the Czechs and the Slovaks.

Posted by Anonymoose 2007-09-07 09:20|| 2007-09-07 09:20|| Front Page Top

#5 I'm a believer in the Federal German model. Create somewhat independent States that send representatives to the Federal Government. Each state also sends taxes depending upon their wealth so some states (like Bavaria in the German example) send more to help out the poorer states. You also leave the Constitution open so that new states can join in easily (as Western Germany did to accomidate the hopeful reuninion with the East), in case Jordan/Syria or Shia Arabs in what is now Iran think joining up might be a good idea once the idea has proven itself.

Another thing is the States should probably be larger than the provinces to keep things managable. I think five provinces: Baghdad, Sunni, Kurd, Shia Alpha and Shia Bravo. Yeah they'll have better names but everone on Rantburg can tell what I mean. Force the Shia into two so that they don't have an instant block.

Posted by rjschwarz 2007-09-07 10:47|| 2007-09-07 10:47|| Front Page Top

#6 Anonymoose, the problem with your suggestion is Turkey. They'd freak at any Kurdish expansion. The solution is to encourage Kurds to migrate out of Turkey into Kurdistan but I'm not sure the Kurds would do that. Would they? Or do we just carve out a chunk of territory from Turkey and tell them to get bent since Turkey may be slipping away from the West anyway.

Posted by rjschwarz 2007-09-07 10:49|| 2007-09-07 10:49|| Front Page Top

#7 Turkey may be slipping away from the West anyway. I think this is the case, RJS.

Barbara Lerner writes at NRO about the situation in Turkey and why we should not acknowledge the Armenian Genocide for geopolitical reasons. She basically denies that the genocide occurred.
Judgement Time

Andrew Bostom surveys the evidence and makes a strong case that the genocide was driven by Jihad. Congress Must Recognize the Armenian Genocide

Actions matter, and the truth can be known. Is Turkey really a secular democracy?

Posted by SR-71 2007-09-07 11:09|| 2007-09-07 11:09|| Front Page Top

#8 Anonymoose:

I was a strong supporter of the pre-Carter, Teddy Roosevelt policy of supporting local "strong men" where same keeps down America's ideological enemies.
If you are advocating setting up Kurds as our Rooseveltian allies, that makes sense. Turkey is an artificial creation that should be broken up. Their membership in NATO can be terminated. We could hand them a strip in what is now the Syrian terrorist entity. When the landlocked status ends, then real nationhood would be at hand.

Posted by McZoid 2007-09-07 15:19|| 2007-09-07 15:19|| Front Page Top

#9 I'm not sure Turkey is an artificial enemy, the bulk of Turkey is comprised of a single ethnic entity which is one of the tennents of a modern nation state. However, they do have Kurdish and Greek sections that they should not assume will remain under the Turkish boot if they continue to drift from the West.

Free Constantinople! Yeah the Greeks are pretty anti-American as well but I like the sound of it and in the global war on terror it might do good to push the Islamic conquest back a bit.

Posted by rjschwarz 2007-09-07 18:04|| 2007-09-07 18:04|| Front Page Top

#10 Artificial creation, not artificial enemy. Doh, preview!

Posted by rjschwarz 2007-09-07 18:04|| 2007-09-07 18:04|| Front Page Top

#11 The solution is to encourage Kurds to migrate out of Turkey into Kurdistan but I'm not sure the Kurds would do that.

Those mountains were occupied by Kurds long before the Turks settled down after riding in from Asia. I don't think the Kurds would be all that happy to give them up. Not without a lot in exchange, at any rate.

Posted by lotp 2007-09-07 18:55|| 2007-09-07 18:55|| Front Page Top

23:52 gorb
23:24 trailing wife
23:16 Zenster
23:14 Oddball
23:10 trailing wife
23:08 Zenster
23:06 trailing wife
22:42 Glenmore
22:38 Remoteman
22:33 newc
22:25 Glenmore
22:17 Halliburton - Biblical Plagues Division
21:26 Anonymoose
21:25 Anonymoose
21:04 Nimble Spemble
21:03 Scooter McGruder
20:59 Scooter McGruder
20:43 Zenster
20:35 Verlaine
20:32 JosephMendiola
20:29 Frank G
20:28 McZoid
20:20 Verlaine
20:19 mrp