Good article here (http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/15201701.htm)

I say the info filters up to Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld by October. Anyone want to wager?

interesting graphic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/img/06/0805_iraq.jpg

That Sunni, Shia, Kurd area seems like a great place to make new borders....... case closed :P

To be opened by Turkey

To be opened by Turkey

I really would like to be the fly on the wall listening in on the negotiations between the US State Department and Turkey on what it would take to allow the Kurds to have their own state/country. It could be the Palestine Mandate all over again, and we would see Kurdish refugees from across the region flocking to their new homeland, only to be besieged by historical enemies for the next 100 years.

Yeah, Turkey will never let it happen. They know that if the Kurds in northern Iraq get their own state they are in serious trouble because of the large population of Kurds in SE Turkey.
Turkey is really a conglomeration of many different ethnic minorities that have made it virtually impossible to hold it together, * see Ottoman Empire. Turkey has shown a willingness to do anything to keep order and prevent nationalistic yearnings from emerging , as evidence by the Armenian Genocide.
What the Kurds want is unification of all Kurdish people and the establishment of Kurdistan, the natural state if borders were established organically. Turkey realizes this and understands that would mean the partitioning of their territory. And Turkey, if you will pardon the pun, will not let itself be carved up. See what happened to the Soviet Union? Once one leaves, they all go in short order.

http://www.kncna.org/images/kurdistan-map-large.jpg
http://www.kncna.org/docs/map.asp

Just out of ignorant curiousity. Which brand of Islam are the Kurds? Are they Shia or Sunni or something else?

Kurds are primarily Sunni... however, there is a strong affiliation to Sufism (mystical new age type Islam) in the Kurdish culture. Interestingly enough, Kurds in Iraq have stronger ties to the Persian Shia, than the Arab Sunni who have historically oppressed and looked down on them.

Condaleeza says that "its a better middle east now than it was before" maybe it will be great for '08.

I have an idea.... the Kurds and the Palestinians swap spots..... and that only took me about 15 seconds to figure out.

Dr Bise Rice :P

I remember when I was in that Area in the Early 90's
Some of the stories I heard about the Turks' treatment of the Kurds would horrify you.
1 of them I heard from the PKK involved helicopters, Kurdish children and nalpalm.
The Kurdish kids would come to the American helicopters, because we would hand out candy.
Sometimes they would run under the helicopters, to try and catch any that fell out afterwards.
In the story I heard the Turks flew to a Kurdish village the Americans used to visit quite a lot. Instead of throwing out candy, however, the Turks threw napalm out of the helicoptor.
Now whether this is true or not, I don't know. All I know is that the PKK weren't the kinds of guys that would just sit around making up stories.

That's sure a disgusting story Sixee, I sure hope it's not true. From that corner of the world, I don't doubt the validity of it though. Sickening.

I remember when I was in that Area in the Early 90's
Some of the stories I heard about the Turks' treatment of the Kurds would horrify you.
1 of them I heard from the PKK involved helicopters, Kurdish children and nalpalm.
The Kurdish kids would come to the American helicopters, because we would hand out candy.
Sometimes they would run under the helicopters, to try and catch any that fell out afterwards.
In the story I heard the Turks flew to a Kurdish village the Americans used to visit quite a lot. Instead of throwing out candy, however, the Turks threw napalm out of the helicoptor.
Now whether this is true or not, I don't know. All I know is that the PKK weren't the kinds of guys that would just sit around making up stories.

In yesterday's St Paul Pioneer Press NY Times reporters Edward Wong and Yerevan Adham disclosed that Iran has been shelling the Kurds in Iraq. "The government of Iraq is aware of the shelling, which has taken place occasionally in recent months, but has not taken an official position", according to an official, Mustafa Sayed Qadir. (Bold text is mine) Why has this not made the news before this?

The article goes on to say that in recent weeks both Iran and Turkey have been stepping up their warnings to the Kurdish militant groups in the area, apparently fearing a new surge toward an independent Kurdistan.

It should be obvious that there is never going to be peace in the region as long as it is populated by all these diverse tribes.

It should be obvious that there is never going to be peace in the region as long as it is populated by all these diverse tribes.

You have any ideas on a solution? Obviously genocide of certain tribes isn't an option.

Saturation Bombing! (http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2005/050202-sex-bomb.htm)


:devil

Ah, yes, well considering the messenger, I'm not suprised....

"You've got to understand," said Pease, of Milton-Freewater, Ore., "you know, the United States Army and most of the people in the United States Army, the Marine Corps and the Air Force and the Navy have never really lost at anything."

One of my favorite quotes about everything wrong with the way America views its own history. We bought our own hype.


"I don't think there's any winning here. Victory for us is withdrawing," said Sgt. James Ellis, 25, of Chicago. "In this part of the world they have been fighting for 3,000 years, and we're not going to fix it in three."

Welcome to real life, Richard Perle!