The KRG’s September 25 vote was provocative and threatens regional security, with the stakes particularly high for Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, observes Shakir Husain
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s dubious referendum on independence from Baghdad in September was another Western puppet game in Iraq’s troubled history.
All those who want to destabilise West Asia, are pleased with the Kurdish administration’s dangerous manoeuvre.
Ever since the 1979 Iranian revolution toppled Reza Pahlavi’s Western-backed puppet regime, the region has seen continuous conflict due to American determination to never give up control of the resource-rich countries in the Middle East and establish its political and cultural hegemony. It was so humiliating for the Americans that their Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) did not even get time to dismantle its regional base in Iran’s forests when the Ayatollah Khomeni-led uprising happened.
The Jewish militia state of Israel has been America’s reliable ally as well as its master in the hegemonic plans. The dangerous rise of America’s neocon mafia adds another twist in the centuries-old Crusader-imperialist campaign to rule the world.
The American schemes so far have been bloody and devastating for every community in the Middle East whether they are Kurds, Arabs, Iranians or Turks.
The Iraq-Iran war that followed Khomeini’s rise to power caused so much destruction, finally ending in no clear winners. Both warring parties received overt and covert support from the global mafia that profits from wars.
President Saddam Hussein emerged stronger, commanding a battle-hardened military. Israel obviously could not accept a strong Arab state so close to it. They can always get Americans to fight and die for them.
No suggestion of a conspiracy should be dismissed behind the 1990 Kuwait invasion Saddam launched. Much has been said about the role the then notorious US ambassador to Baghdad, April Catherine Glaspie, might have played in encouraging Saddam to start that misadventure against a fellow Muslim and Arab nation.
More recently, Saudi Arabia and its friends the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt also received a signal, from the US president himself (and probably Trump’s family and relatives), to launch a misadventure against their brothers in Qatar. Had it not been for counter hints of action from Iran and Turkey, today the whole region would have been mired in another deadly Gulf war?
It was said that Saddam misread the American position in 1990. Such disastrous outcomes only happen when you seek guidance from your enemies. The US was never a friend of Iraq, Arabs or Muslims and it will never be one.
They belong to an entirely different culture where dishonesty is valued and savagery rewarded.
Once the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was reversed, the bigger Western game of hegemony kicked off. America and its allies caused mass murder through sanctions in Iraq, hoping to bring down Saddam and install a puppet regime. Then Al Qaeda (who are these deviant terrorists if not America’s allies?) entered the scene in 2001 and brought down some huge buildings in the US. So America the Victim of Terrorism launched new wars and took over two major Muslim countries – Afghanistan and Iraq. The 2003 invasion of Iraq then changed the whole power dynamics of the Middle East. Of course America’s regional puppets helped it in accomplishing the hegemonic designs.
We can endlessly analyse who were the gainers and losers of the 2003 Anglo-American war project, but the basic fact is that Iraq has become a totally transformed territory, presenting a different set of political and geographical complications.
Have the Americans and British achieved what they wanted? They have gained the satisfaction of causing destruction but not their long-term objectives. What’s certain is that Israel managed to get rid of a formidable challenger.
Since the global war mafia has not achieved its long-term goals, more puppet games have to be played inside Iraq.
With his so-called referendum and a desire to emerge as a Kurdish hero KRG leader, Massoud Barzani has ended up becoming a pawn in the imperial games.
There was no rationale for holding the illegitimate independence vote, notwithstanding the KRG’s legitimate demands and grievances vis-a-vis the Baghdad central authority. Zionist and colonial forces have exploited Kurdish fears and grievances, through their puppets, to create an Israel-like entity in Iraq. It will be prepared for Western military bases and for launching wars against neighbouring states. It’s heartening to note that Iraq is not ready to concede ground to such an entity.
The KRG could just enjoy their autonomy while maintaining cordial political and trade relations with their neighbours, but such scenario does not suit the global war mafia and criminal colonial projects.
It must be asked who is doing the thinking for KRG and its leaders in breaking up Iraq. In the current regional and global situation, the need for maturity, unity and rationality cannot be overemphasised. The KRG’s September 25 vote was provocative and threatens regional security, with the stakes particularly high for Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. It will produce unintended consequences for Barzani.