The other Iraq - Have you seen the commercial or website?

[Freedom_from_Chains]

Has anyone seen the commercial that has recently started to air on cable promoting Iraq Kurdistan as the other Iraq. I saw it the other day and it is pretty strange, talking about how they are living in peace, have their own government, and their own security forces.

I took notice of it because I heard someone on cable talking about it last week and the point they were making was that the U.S. has stayed out of this part of Iraq and it is developing, as Ann Coulter would say, swimmingly. I have never seen anything in the press about it as I think the U.S. government may not want us to know how well things are going there since we aren't involved apparently.

Anyway here is the website. Take a look for yourself and see what you think.

http://www.theotheriraq.com/

[cspanlovr]

1. How do they keep out the "insurgents"? They should let us know.

:)

[Flabbergasted]

2. It is a vastly different scenario....Kurds had a large well trained

military before hand (Courtesy of Israel). The ethnicity is pretty much the same across the area and they have an oil supply.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

3. Their website says they have their own Constitution but it is not

clear as to if they are a part of Iraq or a separate country. Do you know?

[nealmhughes]

5. To my understanding, under international standards, they are "autonomous"

but technically part of Iraq... But Iraq as the holding company doesn't do much for one.

I presume they are de facto independent, but not de jure. Probably due to the influence of the neighboring states of Iran and Turkey...

They are probably not in the same condition of say PR to the USA or Catalunya to Spain, but "more" independent that those two examples.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

8. Interesting, I will have to look more into this

The last, and really only, information I have seen about the Kurds, which was a few years ago, is that there was some kind of issue about a part of Turkey they were in that they wanted to claim. Needless to say, Turkey had an issue with that. But up until I heard a commenter a week or so ago talking about how well things were going there I really hadn't seen or heard much about them.

Maybe there is at least some part of the world that isn't all fucked up these days. :shrug: :toast:

[nealmhughes]

4. Exactly: the Kurds are Kurds first, not Shia vs. Shiite, or anything else

They are not involved in the sectarian BS, they are too busy trying to have lives.

One interesting aside, the Kurds are not noted for their religious extremism: there are Christian, Zoroastarian, Yezidii and Jewish Kurds on top of the Muslim majority.

If the Israelis trained the Kurdish army, then huzzah once and loudly for the Israelis.

Unfortunately, the states of Iraq, Iran, and Turkey don't like the Kurds very much:x( I can't imagine why. Honestly, why? Are their states so attached to an alien nation on their Arab/Persian/Turkish borders that they are unwilling for a proud nation to flourish?x(

[Flabbergasted]

7. It's extremely complicated. The Kurds have had a long violent history

expecially with Turkey. There is a large Kurdish population in Turkey which has militant groups aimed against the Turkish government. I don't remember all the details but about a month ago there was a bombing by the Major Kurdish Militant group within Turkey (forget the name).

They are quite worried that a sovereign Kurdish nation to the south would destabilize their goverment and with good cause. This was also a primary reason why Turkey didn't give airspace etc to the US upon invasion. At the time Turkey actually pondered invading "Kurdistan" and set up troops on the border.

The Kurds would love to defect but they would probably face military strikes from ever country around them including the US.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

10. That's what I remember about it but I never did hear as to how it

all turned out.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

9. the Kurds are not noted for their religious extremism:

That's what there website says. They make it sound like it might not be a half bad place to live and seeing how I am sort of in the market.

[Marrak]

6. I am listening to Amy Goodman

on Democracy now...she just stated evidence has been uncovered that shows Israeli troops training Kurdish troops up in Northern Iraq. Despite "rumors" past, stated this was "proof"...(some video possibly - I caught the tail end of this part of her broadcast).... Wow, the implications in Sunni-Shiite Iraq? the "gov't"? - think if they'd had the "proof" earlier in the week!? I'll look for this tonight. The neighbors ain't gonna like this (on top of Gaza, Lebanon, etc., etc.)!
:think: :wtf: