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Kurdistan's representative to the U.S.
Responds to Arafat comparison to Barzani
7.10.2008
By Qubad Talabani
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October 7, 2008
WASHINGTON, —
Editor's note: The following is an unsolicited
response to a World Politics Review commentary from
Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan Regional Government's
representative to the United States.
WPR usually publishes reader mail on our blog, but
we have chosen to publish this as a stand alone item
out of respect for Mr.Talabani's diplomatic stature.
As both a news and analysis journal, WPR recognizes
that some articles it publishes will provoke
differences of opinion and disagreements of
interpretation. Above all, our commitment is to
airing all sides of a contested issue, so long as
they are respectfully expressed.
Dear Sir:
The "Commentary" by Sam Brennan, "The
Misrule of Massoud Barzani: Iraqi Kurdistan's Yasser
Arafat," is erroneous and
ill-informed. see short version of the
article.
Mr. Brannen begins with the
statement that the "Kurdish north is increasingly a
source of unrest" and "becoming a danger both to the
country and to its own people." What "unrest" and
"danger" is he referring to? There is no
political violence or unrest in the Kurdistan
region. The Kurdistan Region is the most stable and
democratic part of Iraq,www.ekurd.net
and regularly
acknowledged as such by administration officials and
members of Congress. Furthermore, it is hard to
square how Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
cooperation in overthrowing Saddam Hussein, drafting
the Iraqi constitution, fighting terrorism and
meeting political benchmarks such as passing the
provincial election law last month are a "danger" to
Iraq and the Kurds. |
Qubad Talabani is representative of the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) to the United States
Massoud Barzani, the President of the autonomous Regional
Government of Kurdistan 'Iraq' |
That the KRG, like many governments, is imperfect
and has corruption is true. But unlike other
governments in the region, the KRG can point to a
level of progress in democratic reforms, tolerance,
transparency and better governance. I would
challenge Mr. Brannen to identify another region in
Iraq or the Middle East where the secular trend, as
well as tolerance for diversity, is as
well-developed as it is in the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq.
Brannen also claims that Massoud Barzani, the
president of the Kurdistan Region and a revered
figure among the Kurds, "may go down as the Yasser
Arafat of the Kurdish people." Yasser Arrafat
acquiesced to terrorism as a tactic to promote his
and his party's goals, whereas President Barzani has
been one of America's staunchest allies in fighting
terrorism. We Kurds have been victims of terrorism,
not its proponents. This comparison is at best
sloppy and uninformed, and at worst slanderous, and
Mr. Brannen should be held accountable for it.
As the son of President of Iraq Jalal Talabani, I
take strong personal offense at Brannen's
unflattering comparison of Massoud Barzani to Jalal
Talabani. He fails to recognize the important role
played by President Barzani on every major milestone
in Iraq's development.
His input and involvement, in Baghdad with President
Talabani, has led to breaking of the impasse on many
major issues,www.ekurd.net
including the drafting
and the ratification of Iraq's permanent
constitution. While the Kurdistan Democratic Party
and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan have had their
differences in the past, the Kurdish leadership is
today united, and Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani
are the closest of confidantes and partners in
building both the Kurdistan Region and a federal and
democratic Iraq.
Mr. Brannen also mischaracterizes KRG-Turkish
relations over the past year, including regarding
the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), culminating in a
historic meeting in Baghdad on May 1, 2008, between
KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and senior
Turkish officials. That this progress could have
taken place if President Barzani had "refused to
cooperate with Turkey," as Mr. Brannen asserts,
shows a lack of understanding about decision-making
in our government and the relationships among
President Barzani, Prime Minister Barzani, President
Talabani, and the rest of the Iraqi Kurdish
leadership.
The author is misguided in his description of the
status of the Peshmerga. The Peshmerga are not "his
[Barzani's] Peshmerga", rather they are the security
force of the Kurdistan Region, a force that is
recognized in Iraq's permanent constitution. Where
does Mr. Brannen get the idea that the Kurdistan
region "doesn't especially need its security
forces"? At other places in his article he
acknowledges the threats from al-Qaida and other
terrorist groups. Mr. Brannen might also be reminded
of what our recent history has been, including the
use of chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein against
Kurdish villages in 1987-88.
Moreover, every time there is conflict in Iraq, be
it with al-Qaida, or other extreme groups and
militias, it is the Peshmerga that is called upon by
the prime minister of Iraq to assist the Iraqi army.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces have bravely and
consistently fought against terrorists who kill
Americans and Iraqis. In response to Mr. Brannen's
assertions that Kurdish forces are deployed outside
of Kurdistan's boundaries,www.ekurd.net
it should be made clear
to readers that throughout 2004 and 2005, the Iraqi
Government and the U.S.-led Multi-National Forces
have requested Kurdish security forces to assist in
securing parts of Diyala, Kirkuk and Nineveh
provinces. Kurdish forces did so with great success,
rooting out terrorists from Tal-Afar, securing towns
like Khanaqin and rooting out terrorist elements
from Kirkuk. These areas remain disputed territories
and thus not under the direct control of either
Kurdistan or Baghdad. Moreover, it was Prime Minster
Maliki's unnecessary deployment of Iraqi army units
to Khanaqin this year that has heightened tensions
in an otherwise peaceful and stable situation.
Finally, the author proves yet again to be incorrect
in his assertions that no elections will take place
in the Kurdistan Region. Elections are scheduled to
be held in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in June
2009.
Qubad Talabani
Representative to the United States
Kurdistan Regional Government - USA
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