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Iraq 2014 Developments and Kurdistan
In the spring of 2014 extremist
Sunni militant groups liberated western and northern areas of Iraq from
the Shia dominated central government. The group, called by many names,
but officially known (self-designated) as the Islamic State, soon turned
its attendion to Kurdish held areas of northern Iraq in early August of
2014.
The Islamic State fighters attacked areas north and east of Mosul, some
areas close to Erbil, and regions of northwestern Iraq (notably Sinjar).
At first the Peshmerga had a
difficult time - yielding terroritory to the IS (July 2014 timeframe);
however, by late August the Kurds counterattacked in a number of locations
pushing the IS fighters back and regaining lost territory.
Kurdish Factor in 2014
One primary group in Iraq that is both benefiting and suffering from the current Sunni-Shia
conflict is the Kurds. With the fall of Mosul the Iraqi army also vacated
Kirkuk. The Kurds quickly moved their forces into this oil-rich but
disputed city. However, the Kurds and the central Iraq government are at
odds with each other. In mid-2014 the central government cut off the flow of arms,
money, and equipment; which affects how well the Kurds can fight off ISIS. The Kurds
reached out to the United States for assistance
1. but initially (at least publically) the U.S. did not respond
with much help to the Kurds (certainly a short-sighted decision that soon
was reversed when the depth of the ISIS threat became more known).
Who are the Kurds? The Kurds are a secular, democratic group that reside in several countries
to include Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. In Iraq they live in a large part
of the northeastern area of the country (mostly mountainous terrain) and
are linguistically and cultural different from the Arabs of Iraq - both
Sunni and Shia. Throughout history the Kurds have always been supportive of the United States and
were true allies during the 2003-2011 Iraq War. During this war the
Kurdish zone was known as a "safe area" for U.S. troops.
Kurdish and Islamic State Battle Each Other. The Kurds are resisting ISIS advances into their
territory. However, in
early August 2014 ISIS did make some advances 2.
against the Kurds in Sinjar, Rabia, and in areas northeast of Mosul. The
Kurds and ISIS share a 600 mile long border.
Initial Non-Support by the United States of the Kurds. Once again the Kurds
may find out that the United States is not the
"great friend" we pretend to be. History shows that the U.S.
will walk away from the Kurds when it is politically expedient.
Betrayal of Kurds by U.S. in the 1970s. In the
early 1970s the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was covertly supporting
the Kurds against the Iraq regime and the United States was encouraging
the Kurds to rebel. In effect, the Kurds were surrogates supporting the
Shah of Iran and the United States. 3.
The Kurds were operating in camps from the Iranian side of the border.
However, the United States (Henry Kissinger) helped to broker a deal
(Algiers Agreement 1975) between the Shah of Iran and Saddam Hussein that
brought a temporary peace between those two nations. As part of the deal the Kurds were sold down the river by the
U.S. when the U.S. government stopped the support to the resistance,
pulled its CIA advisors, and revealed the locations of Kurdish resistance forces
along the Iran-Iraq border to the Iraq security forces.
4.
These camps were promptly attacked and the Kurdish resistance movement
decimated.
False Hopes during Desert Storm. Once again, during Desert Storm in
1991, the Kurds were asked by the U.S. to revolt against Saddam Hussein.
The U.S. promised them aid and assistance. The Kurds revolted, driving
their Peshmerga forces south towards Baghdad. Unfortunately (for the Kurds)
the U.S. signed a ceasefire agreement with the Iraqi forces and Iraq
promptly moved north against the Kurd revolt. The U.S. allowed Iraqi
Hind-D Mi-24 gunships and thousands of T-72 main battle tanks to head north and decimate the
Peshmerga - not doing anything to stop the carnage against the Peshmerga
and Kurdish population. 5. The result was over
one million refugees crossing the border into Iran and almost 1/2 million
arranged in over 30 camps located on the Iraqi side of the Iraq-Turkish
border and thousands of Kurds massacred and thousands more starving or
freezing to death in the snowy mountains of northern Iraq. The Bush
administration was so embarrassed by this betrayal of the Kurds in the court
of world opinion and the constant coverage of Kurds stranded on mountain
tops dying from hunger and exposure that it felt compelled to respond.
Bush partially regained some standing among the Kurds with his full-court
press to provide humanitarian aid to the Kurds in the
Provide Comfort
operation of the spring of 1991.
Unrealized Expectations. In the early days of the Iraq
War (2003-2011) the Peshmerga were stalwart allies of the United States.
The 10th Special Forces Group moved into northern Iraq prior to and at the
start of the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and, working with the
Peshmerga tied down a number of Iraq divisions and liberated many northern
Iraq cities such as Mosul, Tal Afar, and Kirkuk. Once the Peshmerga
occupied Kirkuk (a life long aim of the Kurds to regain a lost city) Paul
Bremer (head of the Coalition Provisional Authority or CPA) pressured the
Kurds to withdraw. Of course, this move by Bremer - a former partner of
Henry Kissinger's law firm - should have been anticipated by the Kurds.
'One Iraq". And now . . . the U.S. refuses to
provide weapons, supplies, or funds to the Kurds saying that the
assistance has to come from the central government of Iraq. This goes a
long way to ensure that the Kurds don't break away as an independent
nation or establish an independent part of Iraq that has little to do with
the central government in Baghdad. So the bottom line is - the U.S. will
not assist the Kurds to the extent that it makes it possible to break away
from Iraq.
Shortsightedness of the U.S. Unfortunately, the only
military force currently in Iraq that can actually stand up to the Islamic
State is the Peshmerga. 6. But to do that they need continued funding, heavy
weapons, intelligence, ammunition, and air support.
7. There are many who believe that the U.S.
should ignore the incompetant Iraq government in Baghdad and arm the Kurds
with weapons, supplies, equipment, and money. 8.
In addition, the United States should strongly consider the
deployment of advisor teams from the 10th Special Forces Group - a
military special operations unit with an extensive history of working with
the Kurds and in the Northern Iraq region. 9.
Kurds Have Trouble Exporting Oil. The broken relationship
between the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraq central
government has hurt the economy of the Kurds. The central government has cut off funding for
the Kurds and the Kurds are being prevented from exporting some of its
oil. The United States is not helping much in the ability of the Kurds to
sell its oil. 10.
Kurds Respond to Islamic State Attacks Against Kurdish
Territories. The Kurds finally came off the defensive in early
August 2014 following a number of offensive actions by forces of the Islamic
State (capture of Sinjar and other locations along the ISIL / Kurd
border). 11. The Peshmerga mounted
counterattacks into the Sinjar area and locations surrounding Mosul and
also south of Kirkuk. It seems, based on early news reports
12., that the Iraq government has supported
this counteroffensive with air support; which although limited in tactical
value may provide a psychological boost. The Kurdish offensive provided
some relief to the
Yazidi sect - a
minority people found in the
location of Sinjar, Iraq area who are fleeing Islamic State fighters.
13. Some Kurdish fighters from Turkey
and Syria have entered Iraq to fight against the Islamic State fighters in
the Sinjar area (along the border of Syria); the fighters are identified
as local self-defense units using the acronym YPG.
14.
August 2014 - Limited Airstrikes,
Humanitarian Assistance, and
Arms to Kurds
The United States conducted a series of limited airstrikes in support of
the Kurds against fighters of the Islamic State. Several positions were
hit in support of Erbil (the Kurd capital). Air strikes also supported the
Kurd counterattack to regain two towns (Gwer and Mahmour) along the "Green
Line". 15. In addition, air strikes
were conducted to support the Yazidis people stranded on Sinjar Mountain.
The air sorties continued through August and into early September of 2014.
Humanitarian Assistance. C-17s and C-130s dropped food and water to
stranded Yazidis who were atop Sinjar Mountain as well as to other areas
where a humanitarian crisis was taking place.
Arms and Supplies. The U.S. acknowledged in early August that it had begun
to supply arms
and supplies directly to the Kurds. Previously the U.S. stance was that
arms could only come from the Iraq government; however, the U.S.
government soon came to its senses - admittedly much too late for some
observers.
Maps of Kurdistan
Areas of Kurdish Population
www.businessinsider.com/heres-a-map-of-the-kurdish-nation-2014-6
"The New Map of the Middle East", The Atlantic, June 19, 2014.
www.theatlantic.com/ . . . the-new-map-of-the-middle-east/373080/
Iraqi Kurdistan - Maps of the World
www.mapsofworld.com/kurdistan-map.html
Atlas of Iraqi Kurdistan - Wikimedia Commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Iraqi_Kurdistan
Websites with Info on the Kurdistan
Peshmerga Fighters of Kurdistan
http://www.iraqwarnews.info/kurds/peshmerga.html
Papers and Reports on Kurdistan and the Kurds
(listed in
chronological order by date)
July 28, 2014. Life Under ISIS in Mosul, by Jenna Lefler,
Institute for the Study of War. A read on what life in Mosul, Iraq's
second largest city, is like under the rule of the Islamic State (ISIS)
can be accessed at this
link.
Videos about Kurdistan
Where is Kurdistan? A short video (2 mins) that depicts areas of
Kurdistan in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey using a Google map. (2011).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7IpUyM4w_w
Endnotes
1. For more on the Kurds request for U.S.
assistance see a news report by The Washington Post dated July
24, 2014 at this
link.
2. See Kurdish Forces Suffer Major
Losses Against Islamic State, Voice of America (VOA), August 3, 2014
at this link.
3. For more on the Kurd support of the
Shah of Iran against Iraq see "Master of Treachery: Kissinger on Iraq",
Counterpunch, February 4, 2010 at this
link.
4. For more on the betrayal of the Kurds
during the 1970s see "Flashback for the Kurds", The New York Times,
February 19, 2003 at this
link.
5. For more on the sell-out of the Kurds
during Desert Storm see
"Will the U.S. Sell out Kurds Once Again? Now, The United States Says That
It Won't Let the Kurds Down"., Philly.com, August 7, 1992 at
this
link.
6. For more on the Kurds as the best option for fighting the Islamic
State see "Kurds to the Rescue: How to Get the Kurdish Regional Government
to Take on ISIS", by Dov Friedman and Cale Salih, Foreign Affairs,
June 17, 2014 at this
link.
7. See more about the U.S. non-support of
the Kurds in "Will the U.S. help the Kurds fight ISIS?", The New
Yorker, August 4, 2014 at this
link.
8. There are many who advocate arming the
Kurds in the fight against the Islamic State - read "Army the Kurds",
Bloomberg View, August 5, 2014 at this
link.
9. The 10th Special Forces Group based at
Fort Carson, Colorado with a forward battalion located in Stuttgart,
Germany has worked with the Kurds off and on from Desert Storm to 2011.
This unit has received extensive
Special
Forces training that has provided its Green Berets with the ability to
train, advise, and assist paramilitary indigenous units such as the
Peshmerga.
10. See "Kurds ask U.S. to Scrap Seizure Order", Maritime Executive,
August 4, 2014. The U.S. will not allow the Kurds to export oil to the
United States; lining up with the Shia dominated central government
against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). View at this
link.
11. For more on Kurd counterattack see
"Kurdish forces to launch counterattack against Islamic State fighters",
Chicago Tribune, August 4, 2014 at this
link.
12. See more at "Iraq offers air support
to Kurdish fighters", BBC News Middle East, August 4, 2014 at
this
link. The Iraq governments previous stance provided no economic or
military support to the Kurds - so this is a change.
13. See "Iraqi Yazidis stranded on isolated mountaintop begin to die of
thirst", The Washington Post, August 5, 2014 at this
link.
14. The YPG comes from Kurdish areas of
Syria - see "Thousands of Kurds from Turkey, Syria enter Iraq to battle
Islamic State", Stars and Stripes, August 6, 2014 at this
link.
15. For more on US airstrikes supporting Kurds see "Capitalizing on U.S.
Bombing, Kurds Retake Iraqi Towns", The New York Times, August
10, 2014 at this
link.
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