You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Iraq
Profile: Taha Yasin Ramadan
2003-04-01
Profile: Taha Yasin Ramadan

Taha Yasin Ramadan is a member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle and is known as one of the Iraqi president's "enforcers".
Vice-President Ramadan is often sent abroad as the Iraqi leader's envoy and has held numerous senior posts since the Baath Party seized power in 1968.

Vice-President Ramadan is often sent abroad as the Iraqi leader's envoy and has held numerous senior posts since the Baath Party seized power in 1968.

Posted by:Murat

#12  Murat,
Tariq Aziz is a Christian,but that murdering bastard ain't allowed in my church.
Posted by: raptor   2003-04-01 09:12:45  

#11  "MIT is the Turkish equivalent of the CIA. "

So we are to be sceptical of CIA claims, but MIT claims that many Kurds are pro-Saddam are to be taken at face value, without considering that MIT and Turkey may have motives for this.

We shall see what happens.

But, so far Kurds have fought alongside coalition against Al-Ansar, and have helped on the front line. Turkey has not helped at all. Perhaps either of these will change. We wait.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2003-04-01 08:33:24  

#10  John Thacker, I did not say all Kurds are against the US, I said not all Kurds are with the US.

Yes, one member of Hussein's inner circle is a Kurd.

Not just a member but a vice president, and the whole of his tribe, and so are 6 more tribes at least (we talk about 300.000 – 500.000 people)

By the way MIT is the Turkish equivalent of the CIA.
Posted by: Murat   2003-04-01 08:04:47  

#9  ...and then he swung at the end of a rope. The End.
Posted by: tu3031   2003-04-01 07:58:20  

#8  Still, this is hardly an argument, Murat. Yes, one member of Hussein's inner circle is a Kurd. That hardly means that all the Kurds would be against the US. In fact, most of the Kurds in northern Iraq are working with the US.

Most Americans are also capable of understanding that some Kurds, especially some in Turkey, are brutal, violent terrorists, while many others are of course not. The groups that mostly control northern Iraq are not, although of course the recently destroyed (by US and Kurdish forces) Ansar al-Islam had some Kurdish members.

It's ridiculous to make assumptions about an entire people based on one person, as you seem to be doing here.
Posted by: John Thacker   2003-04-01 07:52:54  

#7  MIT intelligence reports? What, have we stopped getting them from Columbia, Harvard, & Yale?
Posted by: Reed   2003-04-01 07:39:21  

#6  Hello Dishman, I am not combative as I don’t respond to name callings of some of the posters but yes I do have a very different opinion on the situation with a complete disagreement on the war.

But apart from this it is not hard to see the troubles awaiting an US push from the north, according to MIT intelligence reports at least 7 loyal Kurdish tribes have been armed by Iraq. Since the CIA has made too many wrong assumptions lately it wont be a surprise if they misjudge the situation in the north also. They take quite a risk to suppose that all Kurds will salute the US troops as liberators. One of the guerrilla tactics can be to make it look like they receive soldiers as liberators and subsequently shoot in the back, can’t be so difficult when soldiers think that armed peshmergas around them are on their side. I would watch my back especially at a moment when the peshmergas outnumber the forces at some places and in the remote villages.
Posted by: Murat   2003-04-01 05:34:49  

#5  The Shi'ite or Shi'as or however you spell it have not joined the cause because they're still affraid of Saddam. Their support will have to be earned over time. Do you also get angry when Fedayeen shot families for surrendering or only when Americans are involved in accidents?

Ramadan may be a Kurd but I don't think the Kurds will forget al-Anfal or Halabja. I hope not. Does al-Jazeera have correspondents in Northern Iraq? What do they say about the Kurds? Slate.com's reporter says that things are going well and not spinning out of control.
Posted by: Tokyo Taro   2003-04-01 04:38:11  

#4  Murat goes up and down. When he's not combative, he's got intelligent things to say. Unfortunately, he's been pretty worked up lately.
Posted by: Dishman   2003-04-01 04:35:39  

#3  Thanks for the info Murat.
Taha is a Kurd. Tariq is a Chaldean Christian. I wonder if something bad happened at their bath party? I note his quote in the article, "I don't know anything about industry but anyone who doesn't work hard will be executed". Think again Labor!
Posted by: Spaco   2003-04-01 04:33:09  

#2  Some of you may ask why I post this piece from the BBC about Taha Yasin Ramazan, vice president of Iraq, a member of Saddam’s closest circle.

I did it because since the Shia liberation did not go well as planned and the Shia did not rise against Saddam, some began to think if not the Shia, then we’ll use the Kurds.

Well I have some little known back info, actually I wonder why it is little to not mentioned in the press, the vice president of Iraq, right hand of Saddam Taha Yasin Ramazan is a Kurd of the Cabak tribe.

I guessed it will rise some question marks for those who think they can automatically build on a Kurdish opposition support may face more bumpy stones on the road to victory.
Posted by: Murat   2003-04-01 04:01:12  

#1  He's your uncle, Murat?
Posted by: RW   2003-04-01 03:55:17  

00:00