Iraqi Forces Begin Assault Near Kurdish-Held City of Kirkuk

Discussion in 'Latest US & World News' started by goody, Oct 16, 2017.

  1. goody

    goody Banned

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2015
    Messages:
    4,469
    Likes Received:
    738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    KIRKUK, Iraq — Iraqi state television said early Monday that Iraqi forces had begun an operation to seize the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk and its surrounding oil fields, despite weeks of urgent efforts by the United States to keep tensions between its allies from boiling over into another war in the Middle East.

    In a brief statement released to the state-run network, Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, ordered troops to impose security in the area “in cooperation with the people of Kirkuk and the pesh merga,” or Kurdish fighters.

    State-run TV said the initial assault by Iraqi troops, counterterrorism forces and federal police did not encounter resistance as they sought to reclaim areas seized by Kurdish forces in 2014. But there were unconfirmed reports of clashes with the pesh merga, who maintain defensive lines around Kirkuk and the oil fields.

    Military sources also reported exchanges of artillery fire, but those reports could not be confirmed.

    The Iraqi military operation would be the first use of military force by the government in Baghdad in response to an independence vote last month by the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

    Both the Iraqi Army and the pesh merga have been trained and equipped by the United States as part of the American-led coalition battling Islamic State militants in the country. But the other major players in the conflict — the Shiite militias that make up a considerable amount of Iraq’s fighting strength — have largely been trained and supported by Iran.

    In Washington, the Pentagon urged “all actors” in the region to focus on battling Islamic State militants and to avoid provoking disputes among Iraqis, Reuters reported.

    It was unclear whether American troops were in the area Monday morning. A spokesman for the coalition in Baghdad did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There was no immediate response from the American Embassy in Baghdad.

    The United States has provided intelligence, special operations forces, weapons, airstrikes and artillery to Iraqi forces battling Islamic State militants in the area, and have similarly backed Kurdish forces in that fight.

    [​IMG]

    Kurdish government leaders and military commanders had vowed to fight any attempt by Iraqi forces to reclaim control of the Kirkuk area, which was captured by Kurdish forces after Iraqi troops fled an assault by Islamic State militants in 2014.

    Hemin Hawrami, a spokesman for the president of the Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, wrote on Twitter that pesh merga soldiers had destroyed four government Humvees and had twice repelled a government attack in a district south of Kirkuk. Those statements could not be confirmed.

    In one tweet, Mr. Hawrami accused Mr. Abadi of using military force “to settle political issues.”

    Mr. Abadi had demanded that Kurdish leaders surrender control of Kirkuk, the oil fields and other disputed areas that fell under Kurdish control three years ago. He repeatedly said in recent days that his government had no plans to attack Kurdish forces defending the Kirkuk area. On Friday, Mr. Abadi tweeted that media reports of an imminent assault were “fake news.”

    Kurdish leaders have said that Baghdad moved large number of troops to confrontation lines south of Kirkuk after the coalition drove Islamic State militants on Oct. 5 from their last major urban stronghold in Iraq: the city of Hawija, about 40 miles southwest of Kirkuk.

    The independence vote, in a referendum held Sept. 25, strained relations not only between Kurdish authorities and Baghdad, but between the Kurds and the United States. The United States government had adamantly opposed the referendum, saying it would undermine the fight against Islamic State militants, foment ethnic divisions and create instability in Iraq.

    Mr. Barzani rejected an American proposal last month to cancel the referendum and enter negotiations with Baghdad facilitated by the United States.

    The referendum, which was nonbinding, was opposed by every country in the region except Israel. Kurdish authorities said the measure passed with a nearly 93 percent “yes” vote for independence.

    On Sunday night, Mr. Abadi accused Kurdish leaders of bringing fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey into Kirkuk, calling it “a declaration of war against the rest of Iraq and its federal forces.” He provided no evidence. The United States and European Union list the group, which is known as P.K.K. and is active near the Turkish border, as a terrorist organization.

    [​IMG]

    Najmaldin O. Karim, a Kurd who is governor of Kirkuk Province, said in response to Mr. Abadi’s statement: “That’s absolutely not true. I deny it.” Mr. Karim said a handful of Iraqi Kurds who sympathize with the P.K.K.’s goals had arrived in Kirkuk over the weekend. But he said that they were not P.K.K. members or fighters, and that they were not armed.

    For his part, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masoud Barzani, offered late on Sunday to negotiate with Baghdad on Kirkuk and other issues, without conditions. Mr. Abadi has said he will not negotiate unless the Kurds annul the referendum results.

    Tensions were already high on Saturday night after news reports said Iraqi forces had issued a 2 a.m. Sunday deadline for Kurdish forces to withdraw from contested areas or face unspecified consequences. Officials in Kirkuk called the reports false.

    In the weeks before, the Iraqi government moved to squeeze the landlocked region, shutting down overseas flights to two international airports. Late Sunday, Iraq’s foreign ministry announced that Iran, at Iraq’s request, had closed its borders with Iraq near the Kurdish region.

    Both sides were clinging to hardened positions.

    On Sunday in Dibis, about 30 miles northwest of Kirkuk, Kurdish soldiers known as pesh merga filed in and out of a command post near oil fields that emitted black smoke from gas flares. The Kurdish region exports about 550,000 barrels of oil a day, including oil from fields near Kirkuk, earning about $8 billion annually.

    Kamal Karkokly, the Kurdish commander for the Dibis area, said he expected an attack by government forces at any time. “This is a very dangerous situation,” he said, sitting below a detailed military map of the region. “If they try to attack, the result will be bad for them and for us, and for the whole region.”

    The mayor of Dibis, Abdullah al-Salihy, said that oil fields outside the town were protected by a brigade of pesh merga, but that he still fears an Iraqi military attack. If that happens, he said, he will join the pesh merga. “Everybody here carries their weapons home with them at night,” he said.


    In downtown Kirkuk on Sunday, Sheikh Hatim al-Asi, spokesman for a regional militia that is part of government-sanctioned units known as popular mobilization forces, said Baghdad was determined to reclaim the areas. “We prefer to solve this by negotiations, but if we are forced to fight, we will,” Mr. Asi said.

    In downtown Kirkuk, well-armed local and federal police officers were out in force on Sunday to “reassure the people that everything is under control,” said the commander of the Kirkuk police, Gen. Khatab Omar. The referendum alarmed many Arabs and Turkmens in Kirkuk who say they want to live under Iraq’s central government, not under Kurdish regional control.

    “We need to resolve this,” he said of the dispute between the Kurds and Baghdad. “It’s frightening our citizens.”

    Source: https://nyti.ms/2zaNkMP

    ==================================

    Now the world understands whose backyard this is, who got the strongest lobby, and who got the power to push for its own agenda despite world powers...

    Be clever Turks are near...

    [​IMG]
     
  2. MGB ROADSTER

    MGB ROADSTER Banned

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2012
    Messages:
    7,866
    Likes Received:
    1,301
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I hope all those operations will forward an independant Kurdistan.
    At the end , the Turks can't do nothing about it except violence ( Muslims ... normally )
     
  3. goody

    goody Banned

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2015
    Messages:
    4,469
    Likes Received:
    738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Yes. First FREE CATALONIA... Then establishment of greater Albania... Then free Turkmen Republic... Recognition of Northern Cyprus... Maybe later we can consider some constitutional reforms that may or may not include Kurds... And that's a "Maayyyybe" ... Lol...
     
  4. Freedom18

    Freedom18 Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2015
    Messages:
    276
    Likes Received:
    24
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Gender:
    Male
    Most of the Kurdistan region is oil-rich as far as I know. Yeah the Kurdish people want independence but there's so many other countries that already have a piece of that pie, so to speak. They'll have to contend with Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran for any territory(and the greater superpowers which back them). You definitely feel for them, persecution under Hussein and probably a thousand years before that. Now they're one of the main forces which have recovered territory from ISIS. You almost feel like they're owned something, if it weren't for them all that territory might be terrorist controlled.
     
  5. goody

    goody Banned

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2015
    Messages:
    4,469
    Likes Received:
    738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Thats no region of a certain ethnicity. Kurds are indigenous to Iran-Iraq border there. They spread across the region after Yavuz brought them down from the Zagros mountains. And that was in 16th century, not thousands of years ago. Plus, Kurdistan can be established if and only if Turkiye accepts it because 15 million Krmanchi live in Turkiye and they got no clue how their version of Kurdish may be compatible with their southern Sorani speaking cousins. Even the compatibility set, the language itself is NOT sufficient at all to support literature and scientific researches, meaning that the academic studies will not be there to build develop and maintain a nation culture. So you need Turkiyes cultural protectorate and support... Always... Without it, no Kurdistan... And Turkiye for sure has many demands, security concerns and geopolitical duties... No Turkish stamp? Then no Kurdi cargo is allowed... Get it? Got it? Good?
     
  6. Silver Surfer

    Silver Surfer Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2013
    Messages:
    6,871
    Likes Received:
    2,233
    Trophy Points:
    113
    A done deal behind the scenes. The Kurds just withdrew.
     
  7. Jimmy79

    Jimmy79 Banned

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2014
    Messages:
    9,366
    Likes Received:
    5,074
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Let them fight it out. US should stay out of it.
     
    goody likes this.
  8. MGB ROADSTER

    MGB ROADSTER Banned

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2012
    Messages:
    7,866
    Likes Received:
    1,301
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Wooww .. same as the Middle East conflict..
    I wonder why it can be good for the Palestinians and not for the Kurds .. very interesting..
    An independant Kurdistan will rise !! Sooner than you think.
     
  9. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    Messages:
    11,096
    Likes Received:
    3,393
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Love the Kurds and wish they had their own Independent state, but I don't want the US involved in this.

    As selfish as it is to say, there are no political or physical resources there other than the feelings of the people of 'Kurdistan'. We actually have more to gain by letting Syria, Turkey, Russia and Iran partition Kurdistan apart and create thier own backyard terrorists.

    They will create another Palestine, this time on the other side. The whole politicization of people getting killed can work FOR the US too, it is just usually we are involved in the fighting and cannot do so.

    Overall the world generally feels even more strongly for the Kurds than they do for Palestinians. I wonder if it wouldn't be worth it for the aforementioned countries to just let the Kurds have their country. The terrorist attacks and the loss in political capital to me seems like it would be a greater loss
     
  10. goody

    goody Banned

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2015
    Messages:
    4,469
    Likes Received:
    738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Interesting... I thouht this thread was about conflicts of South America...

    Don't wonder too much as wondering may lead you to the ugly fact that Palestinians are Arabic speaking people and Arabic is a language more than sufficient to support huge national cause... That's why you need tons of Mossad agents undermining naturally grown Arab nationalist movements and need many others to "synthetically" build, develop and conduct Kurdish freedom movements...

    [​IMG]


    High IQ is needed to solve it all out... You spend your time trying to understand something else... This obviously ain't for you...

    OK Yoshida...
    Wakey wakey... Eggs and bakey... Oh sorry, you don't eat bacon...
     
  11. scarlet witch

    scarlet witch Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2016
    Messages:
    11,951
    Likes Received:
    7,714
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Female
    I don't think the fat lady is going to sing for a long time, Iraq will only have a new terror organisation on it's hands... like the PKK in Turkey
     
  12. GoogleMurrayBookchin

    GoogleMurrayBookchin Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2017
    Messages:
    6,654
    Likes Received:
    2,239
    Trophy Points:
    113

    people are dying dude, jesus.
     
  13. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    Messages:
    11,096
    Likes Received:
    3,393
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Did you just ignore everything I said so you could put up an emotional outburst?

    There are people dying all around the world. Suck it up buttercup, there are serious discussions to be had heree
     
  14. GoogleMurrayBookchin

    GoogleMurrayBookchin Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2017
    Messages:
    6,654
    Likes Received:
    2,239
    Trophy Points:
    113
    i wanted to keep this grounded in real-world suffering instead of callous realpolitik
     
  15. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    Messages:
    11,096
    Likes Received:
    3,393
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Uh, that's not what we do here, I know you are new and all.

    But this a political discussion forum, not an emotional support center.

    I don't just spew emotion, it doesn't do anything
     
  16. Ddyad

    Ddyad Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2015
    Messages:
    53,253
    Likes Received:
    25,257
    Trophy Points:
    113
    War 101: If you can't win a war don't go to war.
     
  17. GoogleMurrayBookchin

    GoogleMurrayBookchin Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2017
    Messages:
    6,654
    Likes Received:
    2,239
    Trophy Points:
    113
    taking the human element from politics doesn't produce anything useful. despite my general irony poisoning, i try to avoid doing that.
     
  18. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    Messages:
    11,096
    Likes Received:
    3,393
    Trophy Points:
    113
    You try to avoid talking about politics and let your emotions run you?

    Wrong forum my friend
     
  19. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    Messages:
    11,096
    Likes Received:
    3,393
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I agree, I think going to war in Kurdistan is just like Vietnam, they are bound to be kicked out eventually by a more driven force.
     
    Ddyad likes this.
  20. GoogleMurrayBookchin

    GoogleMurrayBookchin Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2017
    Messages:
    6,654
    Likes Received:
    2,239
    Trophy Points:
    113
    restrained compassion is pretty much the only sensible way to approach politics
     
  21. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    Messages:
    11,096
    Likes Received:
    3,393
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Horrible idea, giving compassion to one person means taking compassion from another often times. Why do you get to chose which side "we" have compassion for?
     
  22. GoogleMurrayBookchin

    GoogleMurrayBookchin Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2017
    Messages:
    6,654
    Likes Received:
    2,239
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Maybe in a desert island hypothetical. In the real world, there's rarely moral choices that are so perfectly balanced. Most often, you could have done something to avoid ending up in whatever situation gives you no right answer.
     
  23. Draco

    Draco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    Messages:
    11,096
    Likes Received:
    3,393
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Ok, can you explain to me what we "could have done [SIC] to avoid ending up in ..." this situation with the Kurds?

    What is the moral reasoning here?
     
  24. GoogleMurrayBookchin

    GoogleMurrayBookchin Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2017
    Messages:
    6,654
    Likes Received:
    2,239
    Trophy Points:
    113
    America could have avoided the borders of the middle east getting so ****ed up around WWI
     
    Ddyad likes this.
  25. Ddyad

    Ddyad Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2015
    Messages:
    53,253
    Likes Received:
    25,257
    Trophy Points:
    113
    They do not have the kinds of weapons system they need to have any chance of stopping Turkey from rolling over them, and they should know by now that the US will not save them.
     

Share This Page