[Salim Otrakchi, a Turkoman spokesman] said the Turkomen were especially worried about Kirkuk because the PUK had promised it would not go into the city with its forces and it did anyway. At this point, it’s probably a good idea just to tell you that I don’t believe what anyone is telling me at face value. The Kurds, deep in their hearts, really do want an independent Kurdistan and this talk of federalism is the practical side of Kurdish nationalism. If they thought they could get away with it, they would bolt Iraq and never look back, I think. The Turkomen don’t really feel that threatened, but they see the Kurds with their new buddies, the Americans, and worry they’ll be left out of any settlement and development plans in the north. So, they’re trying to play the Turks off the Americans to keep the Kurds in check. And the Turks … Well, actually, I believe them when they say they’re worried about their security. They’re a truly paranoid bunch.
While this may be an isolated incident, as I mentioned, I could also be wrong in my original thoughts on the subject. I watched with dismay as in the days following the capture of Baghdad and Kirkuk as the Kurds drove Arabs from land they felt had been taken from them under Saddam Hussein's Arabization program. Revenge was being taken and the U.S. wasn't doing enough to stop it. Well, now the U.S. has its hands full with the Sunni Triangle and the guerrilla fighters there. Most of Iraqi Kurdistan has had but a sprinkling of American troops with most of the security being provided by Kurdish forces. Perhaps long-simmering tensions are starting to boil over after a brutally hot summer. I hope not. But -- and I apologize for again referring back to myself -- as I wrote on Jan. 12, 2003:
Instead of a nice, clean occupation that results in the first Arab democracy -- and a network of Army bases from which to project power throughout the region -- I predict the United States will have years of guerilla insurgency from nationalistic Iraqis (some of the fiercest nationalism in the Arab world), the dirty job of suppressing Kurdish and Shi’ite independence movements and Sunni power grabs, the problem of al Qai’da slipping across the borders (with the help of Iran and sympathetic Saudis) into the country to stike at American troops and meddling in Iraq’s internal affairs by Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Russia. And don’t forget the resentment in the region that will occur when the United States begins exploiting the Iraqi oil fields for its own purposes. No one will like that, least of all the Iraqis.
So far, it appears only the last prediction hasn't come to pass. Let's hope this latest incident isn't the start of something far worse.
Hopefully, cool and wise heads will reign. I wonder who the players are this time around? I keep reading old and new works about T. E. Lawrence and his associates, and how they faced so many of the same issues. Different days, yes, but many of the same issues…
I heard you contacted my son-in-law. I think he may have mistaken you for someone else (another Chris is in our family…!) If so, don’t despair; try him again and explain who you are…
There is only one way, Chris to prevent complete chaos in the middle east : the republican can´t win the next presidential elections. Maybe, with a democrat, it will be possible to reach an agreement with the UN and internationalize this conflict. With their experience, it will be a lot easier to bring the Iraqis to their own feet, and make it a shorter engagement, although I belive that even with all this international support, the situation over there is about to take some ten years to get better for sure.
Now what the anti-war people, and well as the people who think this war was launched and fought in the wrong way should do is work against Bush and his gang, and try to bring someone, anyone, with a better sense of reality to run the show, even if running the show means sharing the authority, responsibilities, and everything else.
General Richard B. Myers was on CBS’ “Face the Nation” yesterday morning presenting the Bush administration’s case for the call for additional troops in Iraq. Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, lately a strong supporter of the need for increased involvement by Iraqis in the policing of their new, “free” nation, put him on the spot by questioning the seeming lack of any cohesive plan by the Bush cabal for organizing government and implementing law for Iraqis to police. Myers brushed off the challenge, saying “that” wasn’t his area of expertise. Myers also called on neighboring countries to do a better job of patrolling the borders to keep insurgents out of Iraq. [Ha.]
With this report of ethnic violence between the Turks and the Kurds, it adds to the truth in your words from January, which seem right on the money at the moment. The sorriest thing is that the citizens of the United States still don’t seem to get it. George W. Bush pushed for this war, said that we didn’t need any help from anyone else, attempted to undermine the legitimacy of the United Nations…and never had a plan on what to do to help these people come out of the war.
I guess that’s what he wanted all along—chaos. A war without end.
Wise up, people, and demand justice in our own country, from our own government. It is the only way to peace.
According to the Iraq Turkman Front, Turkish newspapers, and the reports of Turkish correspondents from Kirkuk and Tuzhurmato, on Saturday, the number of Turkman killed by the Kurds was 2, not 3. And of the 10 people killed in the previous two days, 7 of them were Turkman as well, and they were killed by PUK peshmergas.
The events were sparked when the Kurds destroyed the sacred tomb of Imam Musa Ali, frequently visited by Shiite Turkmens, with a rocket grenade. When a large group of Turkmens protested this incident and were going to the American forces to report it, the Kurds opened fire, and killed at least 7 Turkmens, 5 of them identified as:
Chetin Abdi Efendi
Muhammad Hashim Askar
Ashraf Mazhar
Ahmad Ramzi.
At least 16 people were also wounded by the Kurds.
This hardly counts as ethnic violence “between” Kurds and Turkmens. It is actually a series of provocative attacks against the Turkmens by the Kurds. And it is all because the Americans believe what the Kurds say, and ignore the Turkmens.
It should have been very easy for the Americans to establish that the majority of the population at the town of Tuzhurmato is Turkmen. Then, why did they appoint a Kurdish mayor and police chief there?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37367-2003Aug23.html
Khaidar,
I think that the provocations from the Turkish side began with the illegal stockpiling of weapons by the Turkmen Front and was made evident when the US military was forced to arrest 11 Turkish special forces agents who were taking part in a plot with their Turkmen proxies to assassinate the Kurdish governor of Kerkuk.
Turkey has made a lot of noise recently about the plight of their Turkmen brothers. This begs the question: why was nothing said by the Turks when Saddam was persecuting the Turkmens. It almost seems as if the Republic of Turkey tolerated this because Saddam was also persecuting the Kurds and thus, indirectly serving the interests of the Turkish military generals who would love to see Turkey’s Kurds Anfal’ed like those in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Ciya