OF ARMS, WEAPONRY, AND THE KURDISH PEOPLE, ETC.
I can't deny that there is some good news from Iraq. We are told that finally the Syrian and Iranian border areas are controlled by Iraqi and Coalition forces. Doing that has taken far too long.
Also, Sunni Arab tribal forces are helping to subdue Al Qaeda. However, Shiites seem to be made uneasy by the fact of our cooperating with their enemy, the Sunni. They may hate each other, but isn't it unrealistic to expect us not to be on good terms with all factions in Iraq? I wish it were just as childish as the "Mom always liked you best" syndrome. In the past, getting cooperation from the tribal areas was mostly a vain hope. We tended to lump all Sunni in with Al Qaeda and seemed to be doing a favor to the majority Shiites by fighting their enemies. But how wise is that? Most Muslim countries are Sunni. Should we worry about antagonizing them?
http://www.ausa.org/webpub/DeptArmyMagazine.nsf/byid/TWAH-74BJJM?OpenDocument&Print=1 ( point of view of a military person on aspects of the situation in Iraq )
Then comes the news that the U.S. is planning to sell twenty billion dollars worth of latest technology weaponry to Saudi Arabia, no strings attached. Aside from being a major exporter of terrorism in the Middle East we seem to be unconcerned about what that nation will do with all that weaponry. Maybe we're hoping that it will put Iran out of the picture as a nuclear threat, or maybe flatten that troublemaker (according to its many enemies), Israel. This plan, so pleasing for large U.S. arms manufacturers, is making many Americans uneasy.
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/204353.aspx
http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/arms/saudi.html
John Edwards made what was probably his most sensible statement of his career when he said of it,
"Congress needs to stand firm against the president," said Edwards. "The administration's proposed arms deal with Saudi Arabia isn't in the long-term interests of our country or the region. This deal has serious shortcomings—it doesn't force Saudi Arabia to stop terrorists from going into Iraq, make a real effort to help stabilize Iraq, lead regional security talks or assure the arms will not be used for offensive purposes. Congress should do the right thing and block the deal."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/31/175827/204
A new issue to chew over is the current news of a secret deal to aid Turkey in fighting the "threat" of Kurdish rebels in Iraq. This is actually old news for the Kurds, a people united by language, religion but not by politics whose homeland is actually in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. Many tribal groups smaller than the Kurds, especially in Africa, were granted their own, or part of a country after World War II. I have heard it said that the Kurds will never be granted their own country because they occupy a vital piece of geography which is the watershed of the Middle East.
Bush and his strategists may be thinking that our aid to Turkey will encourage them to kick in with support for us in the Iraq War. If so, is that a reason for us to turn against our allies, the Kurds?
http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=bush+plan+help+turkey+round+up+kurds&fr=yfp-t-501
&u=feeds.theturkeynews.net/%3Frid%3D8561902%26cat%3D53023059fadd9a63&w=bush+plan
+plans+help+turkey+round+kurds&d=YIAnYuljO8hd&icp=1&.intl=us
023059fadd9a63&w=bush+plan+plans+help+turkey+round+kurds&d=YIAnYuljO8hd&icp=1&.intl=us
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/29/AR2007072900859.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurds
One of the odd things about this not-so-secret plan of Bush is that according to people who have written about him in the past week is that it may be the reason he seems so pleased with himself lately, in spite of the loss of support from his political base. I sincerely hope that if he manages to put it through the results bring us all the satisfaction which he seems to expect.
Also, Sunni Arab tribal forces are helping to subdue Al Qaeda. However, Shiites seem to be made uneasy by the fact of our cooperating with their enemy, the Sunni. They may hate each other, but isn't it unrealistic to expect us not to be on good terms with all factions in Iraq? I wish it were just as childish as the "Mom always liked you best" syndrome. In the past, getting cooperation from the tribal areas was mostly a vain hope. We tended to lump all Sunni in with Al Qaeda and seemed to be doing a favor to the majority Shiites by fighting their enemies. But how wise is that? Most Muslim countries are Sunni. Should we worry about antagonizing them?
http://www.ausa.org/webpub/DeptArmyMagazine.nsf/byid/TWAH-74BJJM?OpenDocument&Print=1 ( point of view of a military person on aspects of the situation in Iraq )
Then comes the news that the U.S. is planning to sell twenty billion dollars worth of latest technology weaponry to Saudi Arabia, no strings attached. Aside from being a major exporter of terrorism in the Middle East we seem to be unconcerned about what that nation will do with all that weaponry. Maybe we're hoping that it will put Iran out of the picture as a nuclear threat, or maybe flatten that troublemaker (according to its many enemies), Israel. This plan, so pleasing for large U.S. arms manufacturers, is making many Americans uneasy.
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/204353.aspx
http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/arms/saudi.html
John Edwards made what was probably his most sensible statement of his career when he said of it,
"Congress needs to stand firm against the president," said Edwards. "The administration's proposed arms deal with Saudi Arabia isn't in the long-term interests of our country or the region. This deal has serious shortcomings—it doesn't force Saudi Arabia to stop terrorists from going into Iraq, make a real effort to help stabilize Iraq, lead regional security talks or assure the arms will not be used for offensive purposes. Congress should do the right thing and block the deal."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/31/175827/204
A new issue to chew over is the current news of a secret deal to aid Turkey in fighting the "threat" of Kurdish rebels in Iraq. This is actually old news for the Kurds, a people united by language, religion but not by politics whose homeland is actually in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. Many tribal groups smaller than the Kurds, especially in Africa, were granted their own, or part of a country after World War II. I have heard it said that the Kurds will never be granted their own country because they occupy a vital piece of geography which is the watershed of the Middle East.
Bush and his strategists may be thinking that our aid to Turkey will encourage them to kick in with support for us in the Iraq War. If so, is that a reason for us to turn against our allies, the Kurds?
http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=bush+plan+help+turkey+round+up+kurds&fr=yfp-t-501
&u=feeds.theturkeynews.net/%3Frid%3D8561902%26cat%3D53023059fadd9a63&w=bush+plan
+plans+help+turkey+round+kurds&d=YIAnYuljO8hd&icp=1&.intl=us
023059fadd9a63&w=bush+plan+plans+help+turkey+round+kurds&d=YIAnYuljO8hd&icp=1&.intl=us
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/29/AR2007072900859.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurds
One of the odd things about this not-so-secret plan of Bush is that according to people who have written about him in the past week is that it may be the reason he seems so pleased with himself lately, in spite of the loss of support from his political base. I sincerely hope that if he manages to put it through the results bring us all the satisfaction which he seems to expect.
Labels: Iraq War, Kurdish People, Middle East
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