'We love America, we hate America, we love America …
[Al Ahram, Egypt]
Sotal, Iraq
The Odor of Ethnic
Fires 'Cooking in America's Kitchen'
"In an attempt to further fuel
the Sunni-Shiite conflict, the Americans gave free reign to gangs of Sunni and Shiite
Islamists, most of which were comprised of Saddam's remaining torturers,
executioners and paramilitary … The new ethnic struggle will be an Arab-Kurdish
one. The U.S. administration has played its cards extraordinarily well."
By Hussein Al Kotbi
Translated by Nicolas Dagher
October 8, 2008
Iraq
- Sotal Iraq - Original Article (Arabic)
It seems that the five-year
period allocated for sectarian conflict in Iraq is nearing an end, and another
fragrance has begun to emerge from the American kitchen: that of ethnic
conflict.
The approaching
conflict, which has been in preparation for some time, is based on alliances in
the new Council of Representatives and is the so-called Blessed Revolution
of July 22, which is the starting point of this phase, which looks ever
more clearly to herald a period of ethnic conflict.
[Editor's Note:
We have been unable to find any independent reference to the "Blessed
Revolution of July 22."]
Previously, in an attempt to
further fuel the Sunni-Shiite conflict, the Americans gave free reign to gangs
of Sunni and Shiite Islamists, most of which were comprised of the remaining
torturers, executioners and Fedayeen [paramilitary] of Saddam, who suddenly
found themselves without an army to belong to, any protection nor any public
agency to lift them out of unemployment.
The new ethnic struggle will
be an Arab-Kurdish one. But this time, the opposing extremists are more elegant
and sophisticated, as most of the protagonists are ministers and House members
who, in preparation for the five-year conflict to come, began outbidding one
another and inflaming nerves in the media some time ago.
In deepening Iraq's sectarian
divisions, the U.S. administration has played its cards extraordinarily well.
It began with eye-catching media coverage of the al-Qaeda and Mahdi Army gangs,
and continued through the farcical trial of the former president [Saddam] which
dragged on for over two years and was rich material for Sunni extremists (who
saw him as a symbol of Arabism) and Shiite extremists who considered him a
tyrant. And lest we forget the scandal created by Abu Ghraib … etc.
This time, the U.S.
administration is sparing no effort to spur on this ethnic conflict, which was
postponed pending a resolution to the sensitive problems that emerged with the
collapse of the previous regime. Perhaps the most pressing issue now is Kirkuk,
including the Federalism Law, the jurisdiction of the provinces, and the Oil
and Gas Law.
[Editor's Note: Kirkuk Province
is very ethnically diverse and extremely rich in oil. Much of its population is
Kurdish, but it has a significant minority of Turkomen and due to Saddam's
forces Arabization - many Arabs. A referendum to decide whether the Kurdish
regions within the Iraqi provinces of Diyala, Kirkuk, Salah ad Din and Ninawa
would become part of Iraqi Kurdistan was supposed to be held, but has been
repeatedly postponed due to sensitivity over the consequences of the voting 
].
There are three Kurdish areas
outside of Kurdistan: Luristan, Kermiyan and the Nineveh Valley. All of these
have a historic legacy of oppression, forced Arabization and forced evacuation
and displacement - and there is no way under any circumstances that one could
persuade the Kurds to give them up, since they have acquired a sanctity that no
Kurdish political party would risk jeopardizing.
Iraqi
Kurdistan, which touches Kirkuk Province
On the other
hand, the Iraqi government is making commitments and offering national
guarantees that cannot be sidestepped, because to do so would be considered
high treason. We refer to preserving balance in the Iraqi state [keeping
the Kurds in Iraq] and not compromising the sovereignty of the nation or its
wealth. The government has begun to obtain support from other Arab countries
which is conditioned on safeguarding Arab tradition and the national identity
inherited from previous regimes. Therefore, the government believes it is
completely legitimate to wage war on all forces that threaten the security of
the nation, its unity and its rightful place - and it feels that it has the
strong backing of much of the population.
The disputes aren't limited
to political actors, but are affecting everyday citizens as well. The Kurds
perceive that the legitimate Iraqi government is reverting to the same
oppressive laws established by previous governments after the State was
established in 1921, but which peaked in the past two decades.
Meanwhile, Arab forces view
the Kurdish parties as an obstacle in the way of achieving a united nation, and
who want to absorb the oil-rich Northern areas by pushing Arabs out of some
areas and imposing conditions on them for living in others, which Arabs view as
a breach of the nation's sovereignty.
This dispute, the
self-confidence of both sides and a media that naturally incites this type of
conflict are now laying the groundwork for an ethnic battle in Iraq that will
be just as ferocious as the Sunni-Shiite conflict, in addition to wasting five
more years of Iraqi lives and inflicting even more catastrophic damage to the
Iraqi economy.
On the political
level, the technocrats ruling Iraq today are well-placed to fan the ethnic flames.
On the street level, criminal gangs could easily be formed to kill people based
on national identity rather than sectarian affiliation.
In reviewing the results of
the past five years, one notices a complete absence of Iraqi intellectuals
fulfilling the role of controlling the emotions of the Iraqi Street on the one
hand, and a failure to internalize this failure and come to grips with the
difficulty that the sectarian divide presented on the other. This past failure
is obvious and the consequences for the future extremely disturbing. After this
generation lost five years, it looks as though the politicians are preparing to
sacrifice five more.
One can guess what the result
will be five years from now. The conflict will end as it began and no party will
come out ahead. Thanks to its oil, Kirkuk intends to be independent like a Gulf
Emirate. It won't stay Iraqi and will not become Kurdish.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
The Federalism Law will not
be approved because that would create a bitter conflict with Kurdistan. The Oil
and Gas Law will be adopted, and the wealth of Iraq will be signed away to the
gigantic multinational oil companies who will be the only beneficiaries.
To avoid a conflict that
would accomplish nothing, all that remains is for Arab intellectuals to educate
people and urge them to recognize the full rights of the Kurdish people to
their land and offer them complete independence like all other people - with
the aim of turning the page on all ethnic struggles in the Middle East. All that
remains for Kurdish intellectuals is to exude a spirit of respect for the
struggles of the Arab man, and work with him to establish a prosperous Iraqi
society living in peace during this second five year period and to avert an era
of ethnic conflict, the odor of which first emerged from the window of the
American kitchen.
CLICK HERE FOR ARABIC
VERSION
[Posted by
WORLDMEETS.US October 22, 2:27am]
