The followers of Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr may not like it, but the Iraqi National Assembly is now preparing to vote on the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, and it looks as though they’ll pass it. So the question is – what next? And what will the election of Barack Obama mean to the Iraqi calculus?
Continuing with our coverage of the war from the Iraqi point of view, we present another op-ed article from one of Iraq’s most pro-America columnists, Khadir Taahar. If things go as he suggests, the Kurds may soon be ejected from the Iraqi state and given their independence – minus Kirkuk.
For Iraq’s Kitabat newspaper, Taahar writes in part:
“Obama’s victory and the advent of the Democratic Party to power have created radical changes on the Iraqi political landscape that could lead to disaster for everyone – but especially the Kurdish parties.”
“This would seem like a great opportunity for Iraqi Shiites, Sunnis, Turkmen and Christians to close ranks and strike a fatal blow against the Kurdish parties – and not the Kurdish people – and expel the Kurdish politicians from Baghdad and purge them from the government and National Assembly … Iraq gleans no benefit whatsoever from the Kurds. It would be foolish to bear the weight of five million Kurds who have absolutely no loyalty to Iraq. The plots and malice of the Kurds are clear for all to see, and every noble Iraqi should firmly oppose them and amputate this cancer from the body of our nation, since we don’t want them living among us and enjoying our wealth while plotting against us.”
It begins to look like the past five years may have simply delayed the inevitable.
By Khadir Taahar
Translated By Nicolas Dagher
November 22, 2008
Arabic – Iraq – Original Article (Arabic)
Obama’s recent victory and the advent of the Democratic Party to power in the United States have created radical changes on the Iraqi political landscape that could lead to disaster for everyone – but especially the Kurdish parties.
The Democratic Party stood against George W. Bush in regard to the liberation of Iraq from the criminal regime of Saddam Hussein, and Obama promised during the campaign to withdraw U.S. forces within 16 months. Even if the Security Agreement is signed, with the economic crisis and America’s immediate need to divert more money to its domestic needs, the timetable for withdrawal could be accelerated. And there’s always the chance that Obama won’t consider himself bound by the deal and will cancel or decide not to implement it.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, your most trusted translator and aggregator of foreign news about our nation.
Founder and Managing Editor of Worldmeets.US