Iraqi soldiers take combat position during a search for insurgents south of Baquba on August 1. Tension flared between Baghdad and Iraq's northern Kurdish administration after Iraqi forces ordered Kurdish political parties to vacate their offices in Diyala province. (AFP/File/Ali Yussef)Iraq: Iraqi Army Readies For Showdown With Kurds
-- The Guardian
-- The Guardian
Iraqi troops and Kurdish peshmerga forces are bracing for conflict in the disputed city of Khanaqin in the most serious threat of clashes between Arabs and Kurds since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
A delegation flew from Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish regional government, to Baghdad at the weekend to try to resolve the crisis. The two main Kurdish parties are allied and form part of Iraq's coalition government.
However, Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region, and leader of the Kurdish Democratic party, said Iraq was still living under the influence of Saddam's regime and the central government was not serious about sharing power with Kurds. He claimed many military decisions were made without consultations with General Babakir Zebari, a Kurd who is the Iraqi army's chief of staff.
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More News On Iraq And Its Kurdish Population
Kurds, Baghdad in dispute over government buildings -- AFP
Kurds question Baghdad's rhetoric -- Middle East Times
Iraqi lawmakers trade barbs over Peshmerga -- Middle east Times
Relations sour between Kurds and central government -- Azzaman
Standoff over Iraqi town stokes tension with Kurds -- Reuters
My Comment: This will probably be Iraq's biggest political problem. The Kurds have always wanted their own independent state. They have autonomy now in Iraq .... but their desire is to have more independence .... especially since they now perceive the central government as weak. A third party mediator should be involved in discussions .... but the UN is ineffective and the U.S. do not want to antagonize both allies. During this crisis .... both Turkey and Iran with their own significant Kurdish populations ..... are looking at Iraq with apprehension and concern.