The View from Northern Iraq

well, can't view the video, here - this PDA doesn't support Java or Flash, in either or both, and YouTube trades usability for "rights management". So, that kind of sucks.

Anywho, creds on posting the article.

It ain't slapstick humor, sure, but to some of us, it might relate to our jobs, and -- perhaps directly -- might be considerable as relevant to the goings of our lives, perhaps in terms of motive and motivation.

(this, however, is from someone who ain't seen the video - granted)

peace out & shytte

of course, though: What some guy in a primarily Kurdish area in Iraq has to say, it doesn't stand to change the order of the day. Neither does any inane politcking.

At the end of a thing, shit happens.

and y'know, this is some strictly personal commentary

It baffles me that you can work for the same site as FearTheReaper. Is this like a part-time thing for you, and you mostly work for a newspaper or TV reporting or something?

But yeah, it's interesting to hear a Kurdish opinion on the war/occupation/new government. It doesn't really surprise me that he's in favor of the US staying (like he says, the Kurds are not the most popular bunch in the Middle East), but still, primary sources are always fascinating.

i hate that were at war


but if there was a reason to be there, its people like this. it amazes me that interviews like this arnt on CNN and fox news... these are the people that we need to rally around. these people need help, and when we leave iraq... they're fucked

They were fucked along time ago when the massive region they've populated was carved up by artificial political boundaries over centuries of warfare. They've been marginalized and persecuted many times, yet they've managed to survive and maintain an independent cultural identity despite such adversity. That they are finally on the verge of autonomy is both fascinating and frightening. I applaud their efforts but also fear that they will be attacked should the Iraqi government collapse. They are literally surrounded by enemies on every side, but I hope they will continue to prosper and find peace well into the future.

I agree, it is strange. I don't know if he agrees.

I am a freelancer. I raise money from readers on my Web site and sell articles to various publications on both the political left and the political right. I don't fit in anyone's neat little box, I don't follow a party line, and I don't have a boss. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Excellent journalism as always.

There are some very interesting points throughout the interview. The one that resonated with me most was towards the end - "we ask that America not make it nine times." I think that pretty much sums it up.

I'll be very interested to see how the Kirkuk referendum goes. Are you seeing evidence of any of the parties pushing people into the area to try to slant the voting?

Yep. And some of these people are my friends.

At the very least the US should withdraw to Kurdistan. Why do we need a Vietnam War type of exit when we could have a Korean War type of exit instead? We should save the part of Iraq that is salvageable.

Perhaps we should even let them all break it in three. No one should have to die to keep borders drawn by the British Empire intact.

The Kurds call the WC (the toilet) Winston Churchill. He really screwed them by shackling them to Baghdad.

The Sunni and Shia Arabs (apparently) don't belong in the same country any more than the Israelis and Palestinians do.

No, but the Turks are trying to whip the Iraqi Turkmen in Kirkuk into an anti-Kurdish frenzy. It isn't working very well, though. Some people in the Middle East actually have their shit together.

It would be interesting to hear more about things such as the Yezidi girl who was stoned to death recently by her own (Yezidi) people.

There seems to be a generalized train of thought that the Yezidis & Kurds in the North are a peaceful bunch who are victimized. But when things like this suface, it makes one wonder if their culture is just as brutal and anti-human rights as the Islamists.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=452288&in_page_id=1811

Very touching.

They aren't as bad as the Islamists. Honor killings are illegal in Kurdistan, but they still happen anyway and the government doesn't always do something about it.

This is a problem everywhere in the Middle East, even in Israel among the Arab population there. It's disgusting, truly. The only encouraging thing I have to say about it is that in some parts of the Middle East this is no longer as acceptableas it was once.

It is a backward region, and this is a very old world phenomenon, most common among the tribal, rural, and recently urbanized people. In more liberal and moderate areas (like the Kurdish city of Suleimaniya, for instance) it's very rare.

The Kurds are improving in a straight line in every single category except government financial corruption. So don't be too hard on them. People can only make so much progress at a certain speed. As long as they're improving -- and they are -- it's not fair to lump them in with the Al Qaedists who clearly are not getting better.

If anything, that crowd is getting more deranged all the time. They now say tomatoes and cucumbers can't be placed next to each other in martkets because the vegetables are "different genders." If such extreme people end up ruling Iraq after we leave, get ready for a third war in that country. There will be no dearth of psycho bullshit coming out of Iraq if that happens. The Kurds aren't like them at all.

By the way, don't go hatin' on the Yezidis. They are good people, despite this horrible thing that happened.

Here's an article I wrote about them last year when I visited their "mecca" near Mosul in Northern Iraq.

AMEN! It seems that this is the likely and inevitable outcome once we leave, I just hope there will not be much bloodshed. The Kurds in Northern Iraq have been functioning apart from the rest of Iraq, from what I've heard (and it seems to be confirmed through your reporting) its like a country within a country. I'm fascinated by the Yezidi religion and culture, is there any chance you might cover this topic again in a future report? Even if it is closed and secret, there must be a few people who can share their ideas and experiences within the Yezidi culture.

The politics don't sound much different than old-time Kansas City or Chicago.

You have to figure that any sufficiently large group is going to have its share of wack jobs. I often use that analogy, "Terrorism is to Islam as the KKK is to Christianity."