The number of Kurdish population is up to 50 million the largest nation on the planet without their own state.  This is not right, why Turkish, Persians, Arabs and the rest of the world have their free state why not Kurdish?  It is true we have never had friends.  It has been more than 84 years since Kurdistan was split up for four parts Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.  In each of these state Kurdish has been oppressed in every way. Americans are showing that they want to be friend and support us in fact they proved for example liberating Iraq and part of Kurdistan(Iraqi Kurdistan) is the right thing to do so we can trust the Americans.  There is always one thing in my mind which is why America does not liberate Kurdish in Iran, Syria and Turkey?  They can see what kind of situation the Kurdish live in.  We as Kurdish never forget what the Americans did for saving thousands of lives.  We have all respect for the families whose lost their loved ones, may God bless them all.  Long live Kurdistan and America.

Mr. Smyer’s comment below is way off the mark.  Far from screwing the Kurds after the Gulf War, the US made it possible for the Kurds to set up their own democratic government and begin the process of rebuilding.  They did this by establishing the no-fly zone over northern Iraq and by forcing Saddam to accept the “green line” demarking the Kurdish Region from the rest of Iraq.  This has allowed the Kurds to establish the first autonomous, self-ruling Kurdish area since the Mahabad Republic in Northern Iran at the end of WWII (which collapsed when the USSR withdrew its support from the entity and the Iranians crushed it).  Furthermore, we (the US) helped the Kurds resolve an even worse problem - the stupid, senseless, fratricidal war between the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) in Dohuck Governorate and the northern half of Erbil Governorate, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Sulaymaneyah Governorate and the southern half of Erbil Governorate. This civil war occurred in during the Clinton administration and was fought over nothing more than spoils, as the platforms of the KDP and PUK aren’t very different any more.  President Clinton saved the Kurds from themselves by forcing them to the bargaining table in Washington DC, where they hammered out the consensus under which the KRG has successfully functioned since. Far from undermining or threatening these Kurdish achievements, Operation Iraqi Freedom has further entrenched them as all of the Kurdish political and military institutions established under the no-fly zone have been recognized and legitimized under the current Iraqi Constitution.  Furthermore, the US invasion has given the Kurds the opportunity to resolve a long-standing Kurdish grievance, the matter of the status of Kirkuk. The Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) in force under Ambassador Bremer created a political process ("Normalization") by which the Kurds can pursue reincorporation of Kurdistan into the KRG, in a peaceful, just, and democratic fashion.  This aspect of the TAL has been incorporated into the Iraqi Constitution and is on going.  As to the matter of our siding with the Turks against the Kurds, that is nothing more than a chimara as far as the Kurds of Iraq are concerned. They are already to strong to be destroyed by the Turks, and the Turks would not dare to move against them in any significant manner, first because the KRG is an integral component of a recognized state (Iraq) and second because the Turks are to desperate to get into the EU to do anything rash.  Finally, the US has already acted to RESTRICT Turkish involvement in Iraqi Kurdish affairs.  This occurred when it was discovered that the Turks had special operations forces operating in Northern Iraq.  The US detained these men, and now the only military presence the Turks are allowed is a liaison detachment on the US base near Kirkuk, Iraq - from which they are not allowed to travel.

I work as a military advisor to an all-Kurdish brigade in the Iraqi Army, based in Sulaymaneyah Governorate.  I work with Kurds daily and have met and spoken with Kurds from all walks of life, from the humble folk to high political officials.  All of these people have nothing but the gratitude for all the US has done for them.

Dennis Chapman

I am afraid that Baby Bush and F-You Cheney will end up supporting Turkey against the Kurds, just like Daddy Bush screwed them after the first gulf war! Lwayno, disabled vet

In comment 44021 Mr. Laskaris had this to say about me:

“If U.S. military officers in Kurdistan are spouting nonsense about Kurds being willing to serve Iraq, they must be ignorant, brain-washed or under orders to spout this drivel.”

Well, nearly three months after Mr. Laskaris posted this flattering comment about me, I am happy to report that 1,141 Kurdish members of the brigade I advise have reported for duty in Baghdad; more arrive weekly; and the unit members left in the rear detachment back in As Sulaymaneya are clamoring to join their comrades here in Baghdad. So much for my being “ignorant” or “brainwashed.”

King Kong invaded Iraq, crushing buildings and populations with the thud of ignorance on the soles of its feet; a 9,000,000 lb. gorilla that represented all things the world finds shameful about the US; yes, there was shock and awe,” shock over the hasty attack of Iraq predicated on falsified information, and awe in disgust regarding how little we knew about Iraq-—you would think, someone in the State Department would deem it useful to understand a culture that dates back to 3000 BC, but sadly we felt it unnecessary and inconvenient to take an intelligent approach, instead we opted for a “sledge hammer” as an alternative to diplomacy, thinking foolishly, that brawn and not brains will conquer all.

The Kurds may be grateful for American help now, but that doesn’t mean the U.S. won’t abandon them if Iraq descends into complete chaos. We’ll be busy defending Badhdad and the oil-rich south, so the Kurds will be slaughtered when the Turks take advantage of the chaos and pour over the border.

Good reporting Reese

My fear is that G.W. Bush will betray the Kurds , just like Daddy Bush did in his Iraq War! Because Turkey is a NATO member,Baby Bush will betray the Kurds,just like Big Daddy Bush did and leave them swinging in the wind. A rational, competent and non-corrupt U.S. president woyld pull our troops back now, into the Kurdish area, and establish stand-by miltary bases there.A modified Murtha plan to get out! This would protect the Kurds from Turkey.

The garden of Kurdistan is now rosy. But when the real war in the rest of Iraq is over and the Shia have control.  Then there will be a reckoning due. The Kurds will have no benefits from US permanent bases, as they too will become the targets. Just as they are in other areas of the country. Likewise the Turks and Iranians will never be happy with Kurdish aspirations of independence. It is a ‘war’ yet to come. So enjoy it while you can. There will be no peace in Iraq until all the country is controlled by the main player the Shia and that includes Kurdistan.  Saddam was always careful with that area, he knew how to play the game. There is alot more water to go under the bridge yet, most of it contaminated!

If U.S. military officers in Kurdistan are spouting nonsense about Kurds being willing to serve Iraq, they must be ignorant, brain-washed or under orders to spout this drivel.There is a civil war going on in this region between the long-dominant Sunnis and the long repressed Shi’ites. But the initial conflict began over 1300 years ago with the death of Mohammed.

The Kurds,over 30 million people, spread out in Iraq,Syria,Turkey and Iran, have sought their own independent nation-state since the start of the Ottoman Empire 500 years ago. Now they have another chance to create one. I wish them luck.
I have pleaded their case, as an ordinary U.S. citizen, on my own website: iclrevusa.com

Iraq was always an imaginary state pieced together by the British Empire after WW I ended. As was the case for 500 years under the Ottoman Empire, some 36 years of British control, and 46 years under Sunni control with their secular Ba’ath Party, this military dictatorship imposed by some 20% of the population on the Shi’ites, (60-65%)and Kurds,about 20% of Iraq’s population, appeared to collapse when the U.S. invaded in March,2003.

Our illegal president declared victory in April. But the opposition Sunni forces went underground, with plenty of arms + a reported $2 billion of counterfeit U.S. currency as well as arms, recruits,and financing by all their neighboring Arab Sunni nations. To have Sunnis ruled by heretic Shi’ites on “Arab” soil is anathma to them.

The Kurds may pretend to serve this cesspool called Iraq for now, but would gladly kill it off given the chance. But among the most dangerous factors for them are Turkey where some 20% of its
population, or 13 million people are Kurds. Iran, with about 10% of its population Kurdish, which denies Kurds even exist there, will also try to destroy efforts to create Kurdistan.

A clue to Kurdish intentions can be seen in Qadir’s hopes that “...the U.S. will establish permanent military bases here.” If the current American administration is smart enough to take that invitation to a graceful exit from the mess it created in the region, this move would also checkmate aggressive moves by Turkey and Iran to destroy the Kurds and their national movement.

Certainly our U.S. Donkey Democrats are too much “monkey see - monkey do” to Republicans
to provide any leadership on this score.

Ion C.Laskaris,Burlington,Vermont+iclrevusa.com

The hopes for a unified Iraq have been shattered.  “Unity Government” is becoming an oxymoron.  Three regions are now the obvious answer to quell the violence and allow us to get our people out of a hellish situation; and the Kurds are the first to agree.  By most criteria, the Kurds have already achieved independence but fear the repercussions of declaring it.  They’ve always been our loyal supporters and are more than willing to sell us their oil.  Being the least sectarian of the three groups, the Kurds might even form a democracy.  Regardless, this is the last, best chance for a Kurdish homeland, the subject of Kurds’ yearning for two thousand years.  Obviously, the Kurds know this better than anyone else and are working diligently to achieve their goal. A correspondent in Kurdistan tells us the major stumbling blocks are the same things plaguing the rest of Iraq: out-of-control militias, greed and corruption and the stifling of political dissent.  Reforming and integrating the militias into a single police force which respects the rights of minorities, dealing fairly with Arab Iraqis displaced by returning Kurds and equitably sharing the newfound oil wealth are now the keys for Kurdish statehood.

The Kurds may be our only friends in Iraq.  We owe them our support in their quest for independence (which includes keeping Turkey and Iran at bay) if they demonstrate efficacy in building a just society.  We can’t let them down again.  If Rice’s recent ludicrous comments connecting the Kurds’ security to the Baghdad government (which can’t even secure Baghdad) is any indication, it appears that is just what we intend to do.  Instead, we need to warn Turkey and Iran about the consequences of invading Kurdistan and put our military on the borders; unless the lesson of Kuwait is already forgotten.  This is an opportunity for the Bush Administration to do something right.

The Shiites and the Kurds each want self rule; they have for centuries and they have demarcated their regions.  Wouldn’t allowing them the choice be democratic?  The Sunnis want to return to their previous position of ruling a strong central government and being able to derive income from oil appropriated from the Shiite and Kurd regions.  But that dream is evaporating and many Sunnis are beginning to realize that they will never again control the country of Iraq.  They are probably at the point of understanding that their own semi-autonomous region is the best that they can hope for, especially if an agreement can be reached with the Shiites and the Kurds to provide the Sunnis with a share of oil revenue until the Sunnis can develop their own fields.  The Shiites and Kurds would be wise to accept that responsibility since all are suffering in this current chaos.

In Falujah it was the Kurds and Shia who were fighting the Sunni.  The Ameriscum were telling a lie when they said it was the Iraqi Army.  It was the Americans who started the civil war.

The kurds in Iraq are “Good” Kurds but those in Turkey are “Bad” Kurds. Lawrence of Arabia promised the Kurds a nation, but the UK and France wanted to exploit the area.