Iraqi Kurds plan independence referendum on Sept 25 - Sensationalist Headlines

[t]https://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20170607&t=2&i=1187988307&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=780&pl=468&sq=&r=LYNXMPED561EP[/t] [QUOTE]Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on Wednesday announced it would hold a referendum on independence, in a move the central government in Baghdad is likely to oppose strongly. "I am pleased to announce that the date for the independence referendum has been set for Monday, Sept. 25, 2017," Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said on Twitter. Barzani's assistant Hemin Hawrami tweeted that voting would take place in the disputed region of Kirkuk and three other areas also claimed by the central government; Makhmour in the north, Sinjar in the northwest and Khanaqin in the east. The president of Iraq's ruling Shi'ite coalition told Reuters in April it would oppose a Kurdish referendum. Ammar al-Hakim especially warned the Kurds against any move to annex oil-rich Kirkuk. The referendum date was set after a meeting of Kurdish political parties chaired by Barzani, who heads the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Hawrami said the question put to voters would be "do you want an independent Kurdistan?" A senior Kurdish official, Hoshiyar Zebari, told Reuters in April the expected "yes" vote would strengthen the Kurds' hand in talks on self-determination with Baghdad and would not mean automatically declaring independence. The Kurds are playing a major role in the U.S.-backed campaign to defeat Islamic State (IS), the ultra-hardline Sunni Islamist group that overran about a third of Iraq three years ago and also controls parts of Syria. IS fighters have been squeezed into a small area of Mosul, their de-facto capital in Iraq, as a push to retake the city closes in.[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-kurds-idUSKBN18Y284[/url]

Good, they fucking deserve it. It's not going to happen though, not with Turkey next door.

[QUOTE=The Aussie;52324374]Good, they fucking deserve it. It's not going to happen though, not with Turkey next door.[/QUOTE] Turkey doesn't have a problem with the Iraqi Kurds. It's the Kurds in their own country and the Syrian Kurds they don't like because of the PKK.

something tells me obama probably prevented this from happening over the last 8 years but then trump has basically abdicated all US foreign presence. the US policy on the kurds and iraq has always been better together, even when the kurds do generally have a great case for independance. adding another state there though will not make the middle east more peaceful though, nor will iraq really let them take their oil fields without conflict. i'd rather them become an officially recognized autonomous state within iraq but thats my 2 cents

I give them my good wishes, hopefully we'll see a Kurdistan in the future. Also fuck Turkey in general

honestly there IS a lot of relentless hate for the kurdish here in turkey, i don't really get it being an aussie (well, turkish born aussie) myself and i can't seem to get an explanation other than TERRORISTS even though as far as i know it's the kurds doing a revenge thing (which isn't right either but you know, makes sense?)

[QUOTE=Taepodong-2;52324432]Turkey doesn't have a problem with the Iraqi Kurds. It's the Kurds in their own country and the Syrian Kurds they don't like because of the PKK.[/QUOTE] You say that like it isn't just a general hatred for the Kurdish people.

to reiterate, just on the whole relentless hate from turkey thing, i was in a village last week and i said 'how is it possibly ok for erdogan's bodyguards to attack these protestors outside of his country who aren't doing anything harmful'. the only answer i got from someone who lives there was 'they're terrorists'. i don't get it, really, i wonder what kind of propaganda/things they're exposed to, to just go 'bah, terrorists!'. i do want to also reiterate that turkey isn't goddamn NK like someone else mentioned earlier

I wish good things for Iraqi Kurds, they were some amazing people to meet with quite a few in Berlin. And there is a pretty interesting Vice documentary on them somewhere.

The Kurds do definitely deserve their own country to call home. Looking forward to the referendum!

[QUOTE=The Aussie;52324374]Good, they fucking deserve it. It's not going to happen though, not with Turkey next door.[/QUOTE] On the other hand, it would give Turkey the opportunity to expel all of their Kurds to there instead of their own borders.

Godspeed Kurds Fuck Turkey

[QUOTE=Tudd;52324669]I wish good things for Iraqi Kurds, they were some amazing people to meet with quite a few in Berlin. And there is a pretty interesting Vice documentary on them somewhere.[/QUOTE] IIRC, VICE has done a couple on the Kurds. [video=youtube;KbsesrAMjTw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbsesrAMjTw[/video][video=youtube;79E2KajXos8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79E2KajXos8[/video] Both are kinda of dated now, made in mid and early 2015, respectively. Still great pieces though.

[QUOTE=Sableye;52324453]something tells me obama probably prevented this from happening over the last 8 years but then trump has basically abdicated all US foreign presence. the US policy on the kurds and iraq has always been better together, even when the kurds do generally have a great case for independance. adding another state there though will not make the middle east more peaceful though, nor will iraq really let them take their oil fields without conflict. i'd rather them become an officially recognized autonomous state within iraq but thats my 2 cents[/QUOTE] It would mean balkanization of Iraq on sectarian lines. Realistically, this would mean Iraq gets cut into three states - a Kurdistan for the Kurds, and then two separate regions with Sunni's and Shii'tes to prevent a civil war. Problem is, nobody wants to do it because it'll just be India-Pakistan post-partition, just a shit ton more violent and with third party actors more than happy to give the necessary pitchforks to murder each other with.

how likely are they going to pull this off without violent resistance from baghdad?

[QUOTE=Pat.Lithium;52326357]how likely are they going to pull this off without violent resistance from baghdad?[/QUOTE] Very, because the current Iraqi army is in shambles, the Peshmerga forces are now highly skilled combat veterans and the movement will also see covert/non-covert support by countries who have a resource interest in the land they choose to declare as Kurdistan.

[QUOTE=snookypookums;52326304]It would mean balkanization of Iraq on sectarian lines. Realistically, this would mean Iraq gets cut into three states - a Kurdistan for the Kurds, and then two separate regions with Sunni's and Shii'tes to prevent a civil war. Problem is, nobody wants to do it because it'll just be India-Pakistan post-partition, just a shit ton more violent and with third party actors more than happy to give the necessary pitchforks to murder each other with.[/QUOTE] So you think arbitrarily drawn borders encapsulating Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians etc all in the same country is somehow a more stable configuration? Syria and Iraq need splitting up.

[QUOTE=agentalexandre;52326381]So you think arbitrarily drawn borders encapsulating Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians etc all in the same country is somehow a more stable configuration? Syria and Iraq need splitting up.[/QUOTE] By "states" I refer to separate nations i.e. Kurdish state, shi'ite iraqi state, sunni iraqi state, not states as in "provinces of the same country". I should've made that clearer, my apologies.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;52326008]On the other hand, it would give Turkey the opportunity to expel all of their Kurds to there instead of their own borders.[/QUOTE] Turkey isn't going to let a fuckload of people just migrate over to the new iraqi kurdistan, not to mention that the kurds in Turkey have been there for thousands of years. I don't think they'd be that keen to ditch their homeland. Even if some did want to leave, Erdogan isn't exactly going to let them go. There's something like 15 to 20 million kurds in turkey, even 10% packing up their bags is a fuckload of people. Iraq isn't going to let them go though. There's a fuckload of mineral and petroleum wealth sitting under the area that they claim. They wouldn't wanna lose a good chunk of their economy. It'll fuck the rest of the country too much. It's a shame too, as i said before, they've been doing a lot of heavy lifting in fighting daesh. They kinda deserve it at this point. It's likely to be a fuckload more stable than the other nations in the region, at least. US would be wise to support them to have another US focused ally in the middle east, but we're already on good terms with Iraq so it'd be just shaking the boat of them to say anything. Unfortunately, the Kurdish fight for independence isn't going to be aided in any way by outside powers (excluding foreign kurds).