Saturday, August 06, 2005

 

Kurdish nationalism: a recipe for regional war.

There are reports-- admittedly probably from the (probably) US-backed terrorists of Khalq-- that Iran has sent a substantial number of troops into the Kurdish zone and that lead is flying. Maybe so, maybe no. The US wants to stir unrest in Iran and this could be misdirection. But what is incontrovertible is that the Kurds view themselves as an independent nation that has been torn into pieces by Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran. It's also very evident that the Iraqi Kurds view northern Iraq as the first province of an independent Kurdistan to break free. Yes, there's the minor matter of US troops, but as long as US troops are there, Turkish troops aren't. The Kurds would be very happy to help the US tear apart Syria and Iran... as long as the pieces were joined together into a Kurdish zone. Turkey absolutely will not permit this. They fought a brutal war against the Kurds and have very, very long memories. Turkey has been the US's most loyal ally in the region. Unlike the Israelis, they haven't taken advantage of the alliance. However, as they showed in the Cypriot situation, they place no alliance above their primary interests. So, here's a possible scenario: The US arms the Kurds to take on Iran and Syria. For a while, it succeeds and the Kurds's vision of an independent Kurdistan seems to be a genuine possibility. The Iraqi Sunnis get the h--l beaten out of them and cease to be much of a power. Then the US pulls out. Turkey invades Kurdish Iraq. Iran joins with Shiite Iran to counter this invasion. While Turkey fights Iran and Shiite Iraq, the Syrians annex the Sunni region of Iraq, which the other players don't care about because there's no oil. Meanwhile, the Kurds in Iran, Syria and Turkey rise up to oppose this. Israel sees an opportunity to further weaken Iran. The US is playing a very dangerous game in stoking Kurdish nationalism.
Comments:
It would be ironic, considering the number of times over the past few decades that the Kurds have been promised various things and then hung out to dry by various Western powers, that if Bush actually did keep faith with them, it would be even more destructive than invading Iraq was in the first place.
 
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