Posted on 06/29/2014 5:29:24 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu voiced support for Kurdish statehood, taking a position that appears to clash with the US.
Netanyahu on Sunday called for the establishment of an independent Kurdistan as part of a broader alliance with moderate forces across the region.
Netanyahu laid out his positions in a policy speech that marked his most detailed response to the gains made by Sunni extremists fighting in Iraq. His endorsement of Kurdish independence put him at odds with prevailing international opinion.
Netanyahu said that the rise of both al-Qaida-backed Sunni extremists, as well as Iranian-backed Shia forces, had created the opportunity for "enhanced regional cooperation". He said Jordan, which is facing a growing threat of spillover from conflict in neighboring Iraq and Syria, and the Kurds, who control an oil-rich autonomous region of northern Iraq, should be bolstered. "We should ... support the Kurdish aspiration for independence," Netanyahu told the thinktank, going on to call the Kurds "a nation of fighters [who] have proved political commitment and are worthy of independence".
Israel has maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with the Kurds since the 1960s. The Kurds have seized on recent sectarian chaos in Iraq to expand their autonomous northern territory to include Kirkuk, which sits on vast oil deposits that could make the independent state many dream of economically viable. The Kurds have long held aspirations for independence, but have said seeking nationhood is not realistic at the current time. The international community, including neighboring Turkey as well as the US and other western countries, oppose the breakup of Iraq.
Since the outbreak of hostilities in Iraq, Washington insists that the crumbling unity in the country be restored. Last Tuesday, John Kerry visited Iraqi Kurdish leaders and urged them to seek political integration with Baghdad.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Doesn’t that tick off Iraq, Turkey, and the U. S.?
I think the Kurds have been given relative autonomy. It would seem wise to allow that to continue, instead of making waves over the one good thing that is going on over there.
Turkey is not a good ally to Israel and neither is the US.
That’s a real good move on Israel’s part. I think they’ll be working with Jordan and Saudi Arabia in connection with ISIS.
The Kurdish region in Iraq is stable; the only stable portion, besides the Shea south with Anbar and central Iraq up for grabs in a bloody civil war... again.
Bibi is acknowledging the reality in part. He wisely did not comment on the further reality, the uniting of the Sunni elements across Syria and Iraq.
The partition exists and time will tell the extent of the final new borders.
That which was in the short is no more and is reverting to the very long term mean
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