American troop withdrawal from Iraq may not be possible by the End of this Year, as Obama Promised
Rauf Naqishbendi
June 16, 2011
Iraq is the latest to experience the rebellion sweeping through the Middle East against authorities characterized as national looters with iron-fist oppression upon innocent people. Under Kurdish President Jalal Talabani and Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, Iraqis has overburdened. The Iraqis´ discontent against these two leaders and their cronies has been simmering, and the public implosion to topple the Iraqi phony government is inevitable. The Kurds have been in the forefront of this rebellion as demonstrations in the streets of Sulaymaniyah, the major Kurdish city, are persistent and aiming at toppling the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and its imperious Masoud Barzani, or at the minimum, to gain political and social reform whereby people can claim their own affairs and bring about social justice in the wake of massive corruption and looting by the two Kurdish leaders, Talabani and Barzani. This new development mandates a prudent response by the Obama administration, for it is imperative to our foreign policy with our engagement of massive troop deployment in Iraq and the Iranian upper hand in Iraq which has been our consternation since our mission in Iraq.
Soon after the toppling Saddam´s regime, the Kurds were granted autonomy to manage their own region. Subsequently, they formed the so-called KRG. They went through a fraudulent and forged election, elected their parliament cabinet, and appointed their government officials. This would not have occurred under a strong, central Iraqi government, for since its inception as a republic, every Iraqi government, regardless of its political and ideological motives, has been harshly denying and brutally responding to the idea of an autonomous Kurdish region. The current Iraqi government accepted an autonomous Kurdistan region because of their inability to fight it. Therefore, what has been granted to the Kurds would be abrogated once the Iraqi government consolidates its power and is strong enough to reclaim its control and dominant position over the country as a whole.
It should be acknowledged that the Iraqi central government will gradually be empowered enough to revoke what the Kurds have achieved under the Americans, which is phenomenal in Kurdish history. Further, it is not induced by the intelligence and wisdom of the two Kurdish leaders, but rather was an American prize bestowed to the Kurds, not for American compassion toward Kurds but rather a proper fitting for the American mission in Iraq. It is noteworthy that the Kurds could have retained what they had gained if their leaders had been prudently unified in their position, if they had abided by democratic principles proving their ability of self-governance, and if they had thrived in their independence from the Iraqi central government. The American occupation provided the Kurds with an ample opportunity to serve their own national interest. Ironically, the Kurdish leaders engaged in decadence, nepotism, favoritism, cronyism, and the looting of national wealth, depriving the general public from economic and social justice, rather than showing due diligence for Kurdish destiny. Thus, the Kurds missed their historical chance, and the blame is to be placed on their shameless leadership.
The protests in Kurdistan have been relentless with bloody responses by Masoud Barzani, President of KRG. These demonstrations have not been systematically organized. They lack coherence and leadership. This channels the control of public discontent to other groups that can be nimbly motivated by foreign ambitions to attract the demonstrators´ attention. The vacancy in leadership can invite undesirable groups to manage the situation, the most perilous group being the Islamic fundamentalists who can be easily manipulated and sponsored by the Iranian Mullahs. The other danger is that these demonstrations can get out of control and cause clashes among the ruling parties, bringing about a precarious civil war. It is within the realm of possibility that internal division within the two ruling parties or clashes against one another may well ignite bloody civil war, given the historical precedent that the two ruling Kurdish parties had a history of rivalry and fought one another for decades. This flammable situation demands appropriate interference by the Obama administration to pacify the heated public anger by sending a firm signal to the Kurdish leaders that they must hearken to people´s voice and act upon the people´s will.
American troops are to depart Iraq by the end of this year. It will be bad publicity for the United States to leave Iraq in a state of chaos and disarray caused by public discontent against its governing body. Perhaps the US will prolong the deployment of its troops should the Iraqi people´s contention with their government not be reconciled. This would mean more American casualties and more of expenditures at a time when America is declining in economic power and Iraq is considered a dirty, four-letter word to most Americans.
The imbecility of the Kurdish leaders is reflected in their selfishness as, for their own protection and self-interest, they have sold their country and their people´s destiny to Iran and Turkey. Iranian Mullah´s have a great influence over the Iraqi government, and Iraqi government officials have been taking millions of dollars from Iranian according to Wikileaks documents released recently. Among the main recipients were Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri Al-maliki. It is obvious that Iraq´s full-fledged fall under the control of Iran is nigh. That is an ominous event for the West and the world as a whole, not counting the fact that this will change the landmark and balance of power in the Middle East in favor of the most abhorred power—the Iranian Ayatollahs.
That is why it´s imperative for the Obama administration to exert its influence over Kurdish leaders and prevent a historical catastrophe in the Middle East. In doing so, it will be our free hand from Iraq militarily while saving American lives and not squandering the hard-earned money of American taxpayers. At the same time, siding with the Iraqi people will help maintain good future relationships with the Iraqi people, in particular the Kurds, by helping them rid of themselves of their corrupted leaders, Talabani and Barzani.
Soon after the toppling Saddam´s regime, the Kurds were granted autonomy to manage their own region. Subsequently, they formed the so-called KRG. They went through a fraudulent and forged election, elected their parliament cabinet, and appointed their government officials. This would not have occurred under a strong, central Iraqi government, for since its inception as a republic, every Iraqi government, regardless of its political and ideological motives, has been harshly denying and brutally responding to the idea of an autonomous Kurdish region. The current Iraqi government accepted an autonomous Kurdistan region because of their inability to fight it. Therefore, what has been granted to the Kurds would be abrogated once the Iraqi government consolidates its power and is strong enough to reclaim its control and dominant position over the country as a whole.
It should be acknowledged that the Iraqi central government will gradually be empowered enough to revoke what the Kurds have achieved under the Americans, which is phenomenal in Kurdish history. Further, it is not induced by the intelligence and wisdom of the two Kurdish leaders, but rather was an American prize bestowed to the Kurds, not for American compassion toward Kurds but rather a proper fitting for the American mission in Iraq. It is noteworthy that the Kurds could have retained what they had gained if their leaders had been prudently unified in their position, if they had abided by democratic principles proving their ability of self-governance, and if they had thrived in their independence from the Iraqi central government. The American occupation provided the Kurds with an ample opportunity to serve their own national interest. Ironically, the Kurdish leaders engaged in decadence, nepotism, favoritism, cronyism, and the looting of national wealth, depriving the general public from economic and social justice, rather than showing due diligence for Kurdish destiny. Thus, the Kurds missed their historical chance, and the blame is to be placed on their shameless leadership.
The protests in Kurdistan have been relentless with bloody responses by Masoud Barzani, President of KRG. These demonstrations have not been systematically organized. They lack coherence and leadership. This channels the control of public discontent to other groups that can be nimbly motivated by foreign ambitions to attract the demonstrators´ attention. The vacancy in leadership can invite undesirable groups to manage the situation, the most perilous group being the Islamic fundamentalists who can be easily manipulated and sponsored by the Iranian Mullahs. The other danger is that these demonstrations can get out of control and cause clashes among the ruling parties, bringing about a precarious civil war. It is within the realm of possibility that internal division within the two ruling parties or clashes against one another may well ignite bloody civil war, given the historical precedent that the two ruling Kurdish parties had a history of rivalry and fought one another for decades. This flammable situation demands appropriate interference by the Obama administration to pacify the heated public anger by sending a firm signal to the Kurdish leaders that they must hearken to people´s voice and act upon the people´s will.
American troops are to depart Iraq by the end of this year. It will be bad publicity for the United States to leave Iraq in a state of chaos and disarray caused by public discontent against its governing body. Perhaps the US will prolong the deployment of its troops should the Iraqi people´s contention with their government not be reconciled. This would mean more American casualties and more of expenditures at a time when America is declining in economic power and Iraq is considered a dirty, four-letter word to most Americans.
The imbecility of the Kurdish leaders is reflected in their selfishness as, for their own protection and self-interest, they have sold their country and their people´s destiny to Iran and Turkey. Iranian Mullah´s have a great influence over the Iraqi government, and Iraqi government officials have been taking millions of dollars from Iranian according to Wikileaks documents released recently. Among the main recipients were Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri Al-maliki. It is obvious that Iraq´s full-fledged fall under the control of Iran is nigh. That is an ominous event for the West and the world as a whole, not counting the fact that this will change the landmark and balance of power in the Middle East in favor of the most abhorred power—the Iranian Ayatollahs.
That is why it´s imperative for the Obama administration to exert its influence over Kurdish leaders and prevent a historical catastrophe in the Middle East. In doing so, it will be our free hand from Iraq militarily while saving American lives and not squandering the hard-earned money of American taxpayers. At the same time, siding with the Iraqi people will help maintain good future relationships with the Iraqi people, in particular the Kurds, by helping them rid of themselves of their corrupted leaders, Talabani and Barzani.
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