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Bahceli: Barzani's Statement Is Unacceptable How Kurdistan's first suicide bomber changed his mind Interrogations link Al Qaeda to Iraq Two hundred Iraqi Kurdish immigrants land in southern Italy Turkey, Iraqi Kurdish Tensions High Jalal Talabani Interview with Asharq Al-Awsat Iraqi Kurd Fighters Seen More Organized Iranian troops deployed on Iraqi border: Kurds Saddam's son says Iran not al-Qaeda behind Kurdistan Islamist group KDP Slams Berlin Embassy Seizure as "Terrorism" Barham Salih: The Radical group Ansar al-Islam Plans Attacks Talabani Wants US Date for Post-Saddam Poll U.S. Monitors Kurdish Extremists raq orders banks to be opened in Kurdistan Saddam will not stop me being a Kurd
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Covert Goal Of A Kurdish State Anadolu Agency Sep 23, 2002 SABAH- Columnist Sukru Elekdag writes on recent developments in northern Iraq and certain political groups hoping to form a Kurdish state in the region. A summary of his column is as follows: Even if they don’t say so aloud, Kurdish leaders and authorities in northern Iraq have the dream and goal of forming a Kurdish state in the region. Journalist Tim Judah, in an article in the current New York Review of Books, wrote on this issue in detail after interviewing several prominent Kurdish figures in northern Iraq. The outline of the article is as follows: If the Kurds can play their cards wisely, they will take full advantage of a possible US attack on Iraq. If a federal, democratic regime is founded in Iraq, the Kurds will both have the chance to be represented in Baghdad and an autonomous administration in regions under their control. However, they are also pursuing another goal which goes far beyond the one spelled out above. Namely, they want to use a federal Kurdish state as a stepping-stone towards an independent state under which they plan to unite the Kurdish populations in Turkey, Iran and Syria. However, they are also hesitating to declare this openly, since they know that the neighboring countries in their wider region will immediately react against it and take very strict measures, such as closing down border gates, which will serve to isolate and kill trade with northern Iraq. Judah’s interviewees asked him to keep these hopes confidential and not publish them. One of them also told him why: ‘If you are sick you visit the doctor. He prescribes the medicine. You take a spoonful three times a day and eventually you are better, you are free. However, if you drank the whole bottle at once, it would kill you.’ This is why Iraqi Kurdish leaders Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani say again and again that they are not after independence and try to give the impression that they are not taking positions against Turkey. Actually, they both know that a tiny Kurdish state wholly lacking economic resources and access to waterways cannot last long. However, it is certain that the two leaders can form an independent state if they can take full control of the oil-rich the Mosul and Kirkuk regions and get support from the United States. Nevertheless, this is impossible. Turkey will, in no way, let Turkmen-populated Mosul and Kirkuk go under the exclusive sway of the Kurds. Washington is quite aware of Turkey’s sensitivities on the issue. Moreover, the US knows very well that supporting a Kurdish state -- one completely under its responsibility in terms of economy and security -- at the expense of losing a close, important ally like Turkey will certainly not serve its interests in the Middle East. SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION
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