Iran goes and bombs the Kurds for a passtime - same for the Turks. No wonder nobody likes them. These are an eye for an eye people. With all this bloody retribution about there is no real opportunity to solve the underlying problems.
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Iran is bombing the Kurds again
Iran goes and bombs the Kurds for a passtime - same for the Turks. No wonder nobody likes them. These are an eye for an eye people. With all this bloody retribution about there is no real opportunity to solve the underlying problems.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Must Read
Peter Galbraith's article in this weeks NY Review of Books is excellent
Iraq: The Way to Go
By Peter W. Galbraith
1.
On May 30, the Coalition held a ceremony in the Kurdistan town of Erbil to mark its handover of security in Iraq's three Kurdish provinces from the Coalition to the Iraqi government. General Benjamin Mixon, the US commander for northern Iraq, praised the Iraqi government for overseeing all aspects of the handover. And he drew attention to the "benchmark" now achieved: with the handover, he said, Iraqis now controlled security in seven of Iraq's eighteen provinces.
In fact, nothing was handed over. The only Coalition force in Kurdistan is the peshmerga, a disciplined army that fought alongside the Americans in the 2003 campaign to oust Saddam Hussein and is loyal to the Kurdistan government in Erbil. The peshmerga provided security in the three Kurdish provinces before the handover and after. The Iraqi army has not been on Kurdistan's territory since 1996 and is effectively prohibited from being there. Nor did the Iraqi flag fly at the ceremony. It is banned in Kurdistan.
Although the Erbil handover was a sham that Prince Potemkin might have admired, it was not easily arranged. The Bush administration had wanted the handover to take place before the US congressional elections in November. But it also wanted an Iraqi flag flown at the ceremony and some acknowledgement that Iraq, not Kurdistan, was in charge. The Kurds were prepared to include a reference to Iraq in the ceremony, but they were adamant that there be no Iraqi flags. It took months to work out a compromise ceremony with no flags at all. Thus the ceremony was followed by a military parade without a single flag—an event so unusual that one observer thought it might merit mention in Ripley's Believe it or Not.
Read the rest here
Iraq: The Way to Go
By Peter W. Galbraith
1.
On May 30, the Coalition held a ceremony in the Kurdistan town of Erbil to mark its handover of security in Iraq's three Kurdish provinces from the Coalition to the Iraqi government. General Benjamin Mixon, the US commander for northern Iraq, praised the Iraqi government for overseeing all aspects of the handover. And he drew attention to the "benchmark" now achieved: with the handover, he said, Iraqis now controlled security in seven of Iraq's eighteen provinces.
In fact, nothing was handed over. The only Coalition force in Kurdistan is the peshmerga, a disciplined army that fought alongside the Americans in the 2003 campaign to oust Saddam Hussein and is loyal to the Kurdistan government in Erbil. The peshmerga provided security in the three Kurdish provinces before the handover and after. The Iraqi army has not been on Kurdistan's territory since 1996 and is effectively prohibited from being there. Nor did the Iraqi flag fly at the ceremony. It is banned in Kurdistan.
Although the Erbil handover was a sham that Prince Potemkin might have admired, it was not easily arranged. The Bush administration had wanted the handover to take place before the US congressional elections in November. But it also wanted an Iraqi flag flown at the ceremony and some acknowledgement that Iraq, not Kurdistan, was in charge. The Kurds were prepared to include a reference to Iraq in the ceremony, but they were adamant that there be no Iraqi flags. It took months to work out a compromise ceremony with no flags at all. Thus the ceremony was followed by a military parade without a single flag—an event so unusual that one observer thought it might merit mention in Ripley's Believe it or Not.
Read the rest here
Saturday, July 21, 2007
'Iranian-linked militant' captured in Iraq raids
Agence France-Presse - 21 July, 2007The US military said on Friday its forces had captured an alleged Iranian-linked militant who transported deadly bombs into Iraq from Iran. In other raids across Iraq, the military said it killed three alleged militants and arrested nearly four dozen more.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Iran Security Boss meets Iraq PM
Agence France-Presse - 30 April, 2007Iran's top national security official Ali Larijani met Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Sunday, at the start of a previously unannounced three-day visit.It came as the neighbours announced that Iran would send its foreign minister to conferences of world and regional powers this week to find ways to help Iraq build peace and overcome its current security crisis.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
US to talk toIran and Syria
What a difference a day makes - suddenly there is a possibility of a graceful exit from Iraq after all:
The news that President Bush is set to talk with Iran on the future of Iraq following the announcement of a shift by the US Secretary of Stateheadlines all papers. These anticipated talks will see America and Britain join Iraq and its neighbours, notably Syria.
Bush to talk with Iran on future of Iraq Toby Harnden
President George Bush signalled a dramatic shift in his Middle East policy last night by agreeing to discuss the future of Iraq with Iran and Syria.
The news that President Bush is set to talk with Iran on the future of Iraq following the announcement of a shift by the US Secretary of Stateheadlines all papers. These anticipated talks will see America and Britain join Iraq and its neighbours, notably Syria.
Bush to talk with Iran on future of Iraq Toby Harnden
President George Bush signalled a dramatic shift in his Middle East policy last night by agreeing to discuss the future of Iraq with Iran and Syria.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Top Iraqi Shiite Urges Iran to Talk to US
Gulf in the MediaAgence France-Presse
An Iraqi Shiite leader has called on Iran to open talks with its arch-enemy the United States, saying such a move was crucial to Iraq."Given the special conditions in the region, talks between the United States and Iran are of the utmost importance," the powerful politician Abdel Aziz al-Hakim told Iran's top security official Ali Larijani.
"All the Iraqi statesmen want this to happen," added Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) who was on a visit to Iran.Hakim told Larijani, who is secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, that he had not brought any specific proposals on opening talks with the United States.
To see the full article please click on the title
Monday, January 29, 2007
Bush order to kill Iranian spies
Agence France-Presse - 27 January, 2007
US forces in Iraq are targetting Iranian agents there for capture or killing under a tough new policy aimed at starving sectarian violence of outside support, US and Iraqi officials said yesterday. “It makes sense that if somebody’s trying to harm our troops, or stop us from achieving our goal, or killing innocent citizens in Iraq, that we will stop them,” US President George W Bush told reporters. At the same time, Bush said that it would be wrong to think that such efforts mean a coming war with Iran.
TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE
US forces in Iraq are targetting Iranian agents there for capture or killing under a tough new policy aimed at starving sectarian violence of outside support, US and Iraqi officials said yesterday. “It makes sense that if somebody’s trying to harm our troops, or stop us from achieving our goal, or killing innocent citizens in Iraq, that we will stop them,” US President George W Bush told reporters. At the same time, Bush said that it would be wrong to think that such efforts mean a coming war with Iran.
TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE
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