Kurdish Move in Iraq Leads to Fear of Civil War

[TexasLawyer]

Hey, Iraq has already got civil war. This is the stuff of WWIII. Turkey is not going to stand for oil-rich Kurds with their own break-away republic right next door.

Interesting that this article is featured in Voice of America.

Kurdish Move in Iraq Leads to Fear of Civil War
By Alisha Ryu
Baghdad
04 December 2005

Sunni Arab leaders in Iraq are renewing their warnings of a possible break up of the country, following news that authorities in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region have allowed a Norwegian company to drill for oil, without the approval of the central government in Baghdad.

At a ceremony last Tuesday to mark the start of drilling near the border city of Zakho, the prime minister of the Kurdish northern region, Nechirvan Barzani, made a comment, which shocked many Iraqis.
He said that there was - in his words - no way Kurdistan would accept a role by the central government in controlling its natural resources.

Mr. Barzani then gave his blessings to the Oslo-based DNO Company to start the oil exploration, in accordance with an agreement signed more than a year ago between the DNO and the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Mr. Barzani is the nephew of Kurdish politician Massoud Barzani, who heads the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party in the northern enclave, where the drilling is taking place.


Massoud Barzani

In Baghdad, a spokesman for Iraq's prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, confirmed that the government did not know anything about the oil deal, until it was announced last week. Sunni Arab leaders say the news is deeply worrying. Under an arrangement enshrined in the country's new constitution, the central government has the right to manage and distribute oil and gas revenues from existing fields. But the charter is vague on who is ultimately responsible for exploration and production in new fields.

<snip>

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-12-04-voa32.cfm

[bluestateguy]

1. When will they stop saying that there is "going to be a civil war"?

Geez. "There's going to be a civil war. There's going to be a civil war. There is going to be a civil war", and on and on.

How much more ethnic-religious violence has to take place to show the corporate media types that it's already here?

[Auntie Bush]

2. Yup, now it's Civil War....tomorrow it's WWIII.

I wonder if bush is crying in his beer or if he's curled up under the sheets in a fetal position?

[tocqueville]

3. the Norwegians had the permission of Halliburton

no need for another permission...

BTW I read in Asia Times that one "exit strategy" would be for the US to move to an independent Kurdistan, while the others settle old scores. Kurdistan is cool, the Turks cannot do anything if the US is there, they have good relations with Israel and are neighbours to Iran...

perfect place for some major bases, no IEDS etc...

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GL03Ak01.html

check under Kurdistan

[stillcool]

4. I would think that most of the big-oil contracts...

are all sewn up. Is this smoke?..