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| Iraq |
| Saudi Arabia offers Kurds 2 billion dollars to give up Kirkuk |
| 2007-04-03 |
| A Shiite newspaper published in Baghdad reported Tuesday that Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani had turned down a 2-billion-dollar offer from the Saudis in return for giving up demands to have oil-rich Kirkuk as the capital of Kurdistan. Al-Bianh al-Jadidah newspaper said that the Saudi offer was made to Barzani and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Borham Saleh when they visited Saudi Arabia last month. The Saudis asked for a 10-year freeze on the Kurdish demand to incorporate Kirkuk in the north of Iraq into Kurdistan. The newspaper said that an Iraqi government source, who did not want to be named, said both Barzani and Saleh had declined to give in to Saudi pressure to give up the "Kurds' historical rights to the city." In another development, US-led coalition forces killed six terrorist suspects and captured 13 others Tuesday during operations targeting the al-Qaeda terrorist network in Iraq and those helping them, the US military reported. During an operation south of Fallujah, 70 kilometres west of Baghdad, coalition forces killed six terrorist suspects and detained seven others with alleged links to their support network, the statement added. A separate raid in Qaim, 500 kilometres west of Baghdad and near the Syrian border, resulted in the capture of six suspected terror suspects. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #12 Kurds to Saudis: "Nuts!" |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-04-03 21:19 |
| #11 assuming the story is acurate, The Saudi's 2 billion offer would have included a promise that if the Kurds turned it down it would be given to their opponents. Saudis know bribery and that it is best served with extortion. |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2007-04-03 21:16 |
| #10 Would it be too much to hope that Kurds are one of the few peoples in Asia who believe not everything is for sale? |
| Posted by: Jules 2007-04-03 19:31 |
| #9 Reading the Kurdish media, the Kurds position is that Kirkuk is ours, whether we get it through constititional means or military means is up to the rest of Iraq. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2007-04-03 17:29 |
| #8 How much for Baghdad, Saudi swine ? |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-04-03 16:47 |
| #7 Although they can stick Sunni their meddling where the sun doesn't shine, it's nice to see the Saudis beginning to get a bit jumpy. The House of Saud is built on sand. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-03 16:12 |
| #6 "And I will give you...(looking into pocket) $5.14 for your young daughter!" Screw you and the camel you rode in on! -- No, not right now, you idiot. Anyway, she is worth at least four sheep and a cow! Anything less and you can take thy moustache hence. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-04-03 16:09 |
| #5 lol anonymoose |
| Posted by: sinse 2007-04-03 15:51 |
| #4 This could explain why a couple of senior Iranian honchos were ostensibly meeting with top Kurdish leaders. If the Saudis are negotiating for the disposition of Kirkuk, the Iranians probably have an angle to play. Is Verlaine around today? |
| Posted by: Classical_Liberal 2007-04-03 15:17 |
| #3 Saudi Arabia should be cutting a deal to get shia in Saudi Arabia to emigrate into the new Iraq while convincing the Sunni in Iraq (who will soon have nothing but tribal history and dirt) to move to Saudi Arabia. Secure their own resources rather than try to secure the Sunni in Iraq's oil future. If Saudi Arabia played the Arab card right they could befriend Shia Iraq then without fear of their own oil-rich areas leaving and they could use this as a lever agains the Iranians. Of course they'd have to swallow their bile and deal with Shia heretics. No plan is perfect. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-04-03 14:30 |
| #2 The main Iraqi oil reserves lie in Kurd and Shiite areas. A major part of the Saudi reserves lie in their Shia dominated areas. Post-regime change in Iran, you'll have the Shia minority controlling the oil with the sunni back to mining sand... no money for the wahabi death cult. Watch the fireworks and share the popcorn as the two main muslim groups fight it out... |
| Posted by: John Frum 2007-04-03 14:26 |
| #1 "And I will give you...(looking into pocket) $5.14 for your young daughter!" |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-04-03 14:14 |