February 4, 2010
This past week’s visit by Massoud Barzani, President
of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, to the United
States underscored the special relationship that has
developed between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and
the United States. President Barzani and his
delegation were not only received in the Oval Office
by President Obama, but also spent five days being
shuttled around D.C. to meetings with the highest
echelons of the U.S. political system. The meetings
included a lunch with Vice President Joe Biden and a
meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building with the
congressional leaders hosted by Speaker of the House
of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
In each meeting, our American friends emphasized the
long-standing relationship between the United States
and the people of Iraqi Kurdistan. But more
importantly, during the Oval Office meeting, the
United States’ relationship with Iraqi Kurdistan was
regarded to be of the highest priority to the Obama
Administration.
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Qubad Talabani is representative of the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) to the United States |
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President Barzani
came to the U.S. to have one question answered: Will
a withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq mean
a withdrawal of U.S. commitment and engagement with
Iraq and Kurdistan? During our meetings, we heard an
emphatic “No.” We were continuously told that the
U.S. will remain engaged and help the political
forces in Iraq overcome their differences. The
administration also expressed interest in seeing the
Kurdistan Region continue to develop and prosper,
while at the same time continuing to play a leading
role in Iraq’s democratization.
But most satisfying to me, was not U.S. commitment
to remain engaged, nor the U.S.’s appreciation for
the positive contributions of the Kurdistan Regional
Government in Iraq. Rather, it was the fact that I
am finally seeing a special relationship between the
United States and Kurdistan take root—one that goes
beyond a tactical relationship and the exchange of
niceties, to a more substantive and strategic
relationship. It will be a relationship where mutual
concerns get discussed and strategies for respective
goals and aspirations will be outlined.
This relationship between a superpower and a region
within a transitioning country should not be taken
for granted. Not many heads of state, nor premiers
of say Scotland, Quebec or other federal regions,
get invitations to the Oval Office. Therefore,www.ekurd.netit
is incumbent upon us to make certain that this
special relationship continues to blossom. We must
ensure that our friendship, and partnership with the
U.S., steeped in a history full of tragedies,
betrayal and camaraderie, continues to fulfill our
people’s hope for a prosperous and promising future.
By Qubad Talabani
KRG’s representative in Washington
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