Author: Wang Dehua
The gradual end of the war on terrorism in the Middle East also means that the situation of "dividing the cake" is coming; at the same time, it also means that another bloody storm is coming.
In June, President Officiate Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq, Massoud Barzani, announced that a referendum on the independence of the autonomous region would be held on September 25. This decision was criticized by the iraqi central government, and neighboring countries, including Turkey and Iran, also strongly opposed it.
According to the BBC in the United Kingdom on September 11, Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region said that if Baghdad does not accept a referendum to be held later this month, it will draw the borders of a future Kurdish state. The translation is as follows:
Barzani was received
Barzani told the BBC he wanted a deal with the central government if the Kurds chose to break away from the union.
Iraq's prime minister rejected the referendum as unconstitutional.
Barzani also warned that the Kurds would fight any group that seeks to change the "status quo" in Kirkuk by force.
Kurdish "Freedom Fighters" forces have taken control of the oil-rich city, which has a large Arab and Turkmen population, as well as other areas claimed by Baghdad over the past three years, while driving out the jihadist group Islamic State.
The Shiite militia group said it would not allow Kirkuk to be part of the independent Kurds.
The Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East, but they have never been a permanent nation-state.
In Iraq, the Kurds make up 15 to 20 percent of the population, estimated at 37 million. The Kurds faced decades of brutal repression by Arab-led governments after the 1991 Gulf War, and before they gained de facto autonomy.
Three months ago, senior officials and political parties of the Kurdistan regional government agreed to hold a referendum on independence.
The vote will be held on September 25 in the three provinces that make up the region, which include Dahuk, Irbil and Sulaymaniyah, as well as "areas outside the Kurds administered by the region", including Kirkuk, MarkKhmi, Kahachin and Singar.
Kurdish officials have said the expected "yes" vote will not trigger an automatic declaration of independence, but will rather strengthen itself in lengthy negotiations to separate from the central government.
"That's the first step. For the first time in history, the Kurds will be free to decide their future. Barzani told the BBC.
"After that, we will start negotiations with Baghdad to reach an agreement on the border, water and oil," he went on to say, before issuing a clear warning to the central government: "We will take these steps, but if they do not accept it, it will be another issue."
The president rejected warnings from the United States and Britain that the pursuit of independence represented a huge risk while Iraq was still fighting IS.
"When has there been stability and security in this region and we should worry about losing it? When will Iraq have unity, and should we fear to undermine its unity? Those who say these things are just making excuses to stop us. ”
Mr Barzani also dismissed criticism of the decision to hold a referendum in Kirkuk.
"We're not saying that Kirkuk belongs only to the Kurds," he said, "and Kirkuk should be a symbol of the coexistence of all races." If the people of Kirkuk had voted vetoed this referendum, we will respect their vote. But we don't accept that anyone can stop us from holding a referendum there. ”
He also warned that "if any group wants to change the status quo in Kirkuk by force, they should expect every Kurd to be ready for battle." (End of translation)
Tough Kurdish female soldiers
How to see
The three major wandering peoples in the world, in addition to the Jewish people and the Gypsy people, the other is the Kurdish nation. The Kurds are only one step away from realizing their millennia-old dream of nation-building. The country of Edak faces division, and Saddam Hussein is told that he will die.
The Kurds have played an important role in the fight against terrorism and have also recovered many of Iraq's lost territories. It is now difficult for either side to order the Kurdish Autonomous Government to withdraw from the territory that these Kurdish fighters have regained in bloodshed, represented by Kirkuk. The region's abundant oil production has become a major factor that cannot be ignored – the Kurdish self-government has won far more than just land, but also an important source of finance for nation-building.
The Iraqi Kurds established an independent state, and the Americans "contributed indispensably." In the name of fighting Saddam Hussein and the Islamic State, the United States has been propping up kurds in Iraq. From the previous international solidarity to today's weapons and training assistance, the United States' efforts to help the Kurds build a regular army to expand their armed forces are blatant, and it is natural to have the support of the United States for Kurdish statehood.
The independent statehood of the Kurds involves major changes in the geopolitical map of the Middle East. Without access to the sea, surrounded by four enemy countries, and without the support of the United States, the establishment of an independent country is an empty phrase. The fate of a weak nation is completely controlled by the big powers, but it cannot but be said to be a kind of sad decline.
Kurdish warriors on the battlefield
The United States' support for the Kurds to build a country is not to learn from Lei Feng to do good deeds, but is completely out of its own selfish interests. This is because the United States believes that only one Israel in the Middle East is far from enough to fight for the United States, which has led to a sharp decline in the influence of the United States in the Middle East and led to the rapid expansion of Putin's power.
Or the Americans are smart and secretly support terrorists. Now ISIS has become the sunset, and the Kurds have become a good chess piece to affect the situation in the Middle East. With the Kurds, the Americans would play around with Middle Eastern countries like Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria.
This innovative model is really too poisonous, and the Middle East will only be chaotic. For China, the United States supports the independent establishment of the Kurdish state, which means that the strategic focus of the United States has shifted to the Middle East, Obama's "Asia-Pacific rebalancing" is completely at the end of its life, our strategic pressure will be reduced, and China may usher in the next "golden decade" again. Bless our motherland!!!