I'm referring to Masoud Barzani's announcement.
The 'independent' analysis from western media goes like this: He held a referendum and it was a failure now he's stepping down.
Or as Zaid al-Ali (ALJAZEERA) gushes excitedly, "The punditry world has never been as united as it is today: virtually everyone agrees that the independence referendum that was organised on 25 September in Iraqi Kurdistan was an unmitigated disaster."
Maybe that's correct.
It's also possible that it's wrong.
I'd argue the better reading is that Massoud Barzani has shored up his legacy and his latest move just furthers that.
Outside of the western media today, who thought the September 25th referendum was going to bring independence to Kurdistan?
It was a non-binding referendum.
Do American journalists no longer understand basic English?
Raya Jalabi and Maher Chmaytelli (REUTERS) maintain that the referendum "backfired."
Sebastian Usher (BBC) insists that the referendum "backfired dramatically."
On and on it goes.
92% of Kurds voted for independence.
How is that a failure?
They want independence.
That's not an unknown.
Massoud brought them closer to it than anyone else ever has.
That's a win.
What was the big criticism of Massoud?
That he overstayed his terms, that this was disrespectful of democracy.
What did he say in his announcement?
I refuse to continue the position of president of the Kurdish region after November 1. Changing the law on the presidency of Kurdistan or prolonging the presidential term is not acceptable.
I believe that addresses that issue.
Barzani is a hero.
Nabih Bulos (LOS ANGELES TIMES) misses that point even while reporting:
Local news outlets reported his supporters, many armed with sticks, broke into the parliament to insist that he remain in power. They also attacked an opposition member of parliament who had criticized Barzani, according to the Alsumaria news channel.
Just as everyone seems to have pre-agreed how to report the events, they also appear to have pre-agreed not to name names. Rabun Maroof is the MP who was attacked. He's a member of the CIA-backed Goran Party.
They also apparently agreed to ignore Barzani's critique of the US. RT leads with what the others ignore:
The US has failed to back the Kurds, who were their close allies in the fight against ISIS terrorists, and has allowed Baghdad to use American weapons in its attack on Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, the Iraqi Kurdish President, has said after resigning his post.
“Nobody stood up with us other than our mountains,” Barzani said in a televised address Sunday after the Kurdish parliament endorsed his resignation request.
He was referring to Baghdad’s military operation launched on October 16 following the Kurdish referendum. The vast majority had supported the region’s independence from Iraq in the September plebiscite.
The departing Kurdish leader denounced the US for abandoning the Kurds and allowing American Abrams tanks, which were supplied to Iraqi forces to fight Islamic State, to be deployed against them. “Without the help of Peshmerga(Kurdish fighters), Iraqi forces could not have liberated Mosul from ISIS (Islamic State, IS) alone,” he pointed out as cited by Reuters.
“Our people should now question, whether the US was aware of Iraq's attack and why they did not prevent it,” Barzani said.“Why would Washington want to punish Kurdistan?” he reflected in disbelief.
In his speech, he also noted that "treason" (his word) was committed. He's referring to the spawn of Jalal Talabani.
Two weeks ago, we noted the development -- treason being used to describe the Talabani actions (for a few coins, they refused to allow the Peshmerga to defend Kirkuk -- and, yes, that action is indeed treason).
I don't see the downside for Massoud Barzani.
He's 71-years-old.
Do you really think he's got the stamina or future to continue leading?
He stood up to the world. The US, the UK, France, everybody (except Israel) insisted the September 25th referendum had to be cancelled.
He didn't back down.
The Kurdish people got to have their say.
What followed?
It makes Barzani a martyr, a hero.
This is the perfect time to bow out.
Now it's on someone else to carry the baton to the next step.
He delivered more than any Kurdish leader ever has.
That's his legacy.
It's a legacy his family will stand on.
The Talabanis?
The trashy family that sold out their own in order to get some more coins? The ones who held the post of president while Jalal was unable to serve for two years -- held it by lying about his stroke and his inability to serve?
This is a win.
The press?
I can't figure if they're idiots or whores?
The RAND Corporation, years ago, before Barack was even president, identified the issues involved as a powder keg with many saying they needed to be resolved sooner than later.
All these years later, these issues are still not resolved.
To shut down the discussion, Hayder al-Abadi used the military and militias against the Kurdish people.
That's not a win.
And only a stupid or whorish press could ignore that.
But this is the same press that ignored what Nouri al-Maliki was doing until Barack Obama finally spoke out against Nouri.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraqiraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq
iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraqiraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq
iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraqiraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq
iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq iraq Iraq
