Kurds want to remain part of Iraq - US ambassador

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N11243456.htm

Kurds want to remain part of Iraq - US ambassador

WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Kurdish leaders believe it is better to remain part of Iraq rather than pursue secession, Washington's representative to Iraq, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said on Sunday days before Iraq's historic parliamentary elections.

Zalmay Khalilzad said the Kurds realized they would become isolated and surrounded by unfriendly neighbors if they split from the rest of Iraq.

"The leadership of Kurdistan, Mr Jalal Talabani and Mr Masoud Barzani -- I have talked with them repeatedly -- have decided that it is better for the Kurds to be to be part of Iraq, rather than to go on their own and try for independence because they will be isolated in this area and they will have many enemies around them, which will not be good for the survival of a mini-Kurdish state," Khalilzad told CNN's "Late Edition."

Iraqi Kurds, who were persecuted under Saddam Hussein, have long pushed for secession, but Turkey, Iran and Syria -- all with substantial Kurdish minorities -- oppose the establishment of a Kurdish state on their borders.

[pinto]

1. Not a whiff of a quote from Talabani or Barzani. This is pre-election spin

IMHO.

Kurds have a long, public record of their goal for an independent state.

I'll wait for a statement from one of the Kurdish leaders confirming this eleventh hour statement from Khalilzad. May be accurate, who knows, but it sure appears to be a press float.

[Barrett808]

3. Yes, Kurdistan is practically a fait accompli. n/t

[daleo]

2. Why would anyone trust the U.S. ambassador to Iraq about anything?

The U.S. ambassador in Viet Nam used to make these sorts of airy pronouncements as well.

[Divernan]

4. Turkey fears Kurdish independence push to hook up with Iraqi Kurds.

I agree this is more Bushite admin. whistling in the dark. The Kurds hope to break away and control some prime oil production.

[Divernan]

5. Dupe - sorry.

.

[MADem]

6. Ha! And George Bush is a fairy princess!!!

Talabani and Barzani will say what any clown wants to hear to gain advantage. They've been hosed before, and now they are playing it smart. They aren't going to take their eye off the prize for anyone or anything. They want a Kurdistan, and eventually, they are probably gonna get one.

[Jackpine Radical]

7. We probly tortured them to make sure that's what they REALLY wanted.