President Barzani of Iraqi Kurdistan ready to defend Kurds in Syria.

President Barzani of Iraqi Kurdistan ready to defend Kurds in Syria.(RT).

The statement comes days after reports of a possible massacre in Syria.

Barzani said that he wants a committee to be formed to look into reports of violence, and has hinted that the autonomous region of northern Iraq, which has a well-equipped army, would intervene militarily to defend Syrian Kurds.

In a letter which he posted online Saturday on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) website, he said that he told Kurdish representatives to go to Syria and investigate reports that “terrorists of Al-Qaeda are attacking the civilian population and slaughtering innocent Kurdish women and children.”
“If the reports are true, showing that citizens, women and children of innocent Kurds are under threat from murder and terrorism, Iraq’s Kurdistan region will make use of all its capabilities to defend women and children and innocent civilians,” the letter continued.

As well as being posted online Saturday, the letter was sent on Thursday to the preparatory committee for a Kurdish National Conference to be held later this month in Arbil – located in the far north of Iraqi Kurdistan.
The statement referred to the area of Syria where Kurds live as ‘Western Kurdistan.’ The Kurdish people are spread over adjoining parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran, and are the largest ethnic group in the world without their own state.
Iraqi Kurds have already sent food, medical supplies, and fuel to their Kurdish brethren in Syria but Barzani’s statement is the first time that intervention has been suggested.
There were unconfirmed reports of a massacre earlier this week, in which 450 Kurds were allegedly murdered by Al-Qaeda-linked rebels. According to IranianTV channel Al-Alam, militants from the Jabat Al-Nusra Front attacked the town of Tal Abyad near the Turkish border on Monday, killing 120 children and 330 women. Neither the Syrian government nor the Syrian opposition has confirmed the report.

However, RT managed to get in contact with Kurdish sources who said that increased fighting had taken place in the area.
“The Al-Nusra militants and other rebel forces surrounded the village. They started going door to door, entering every house. If there were any men they killed them and took the women and children hostage,” said the source.
These latest reports follow a statement last month from the Russian Foreign Ministry that Al-Qaeda-linked extremists were holding 200 Kurdish civilians as hostages. The militants were apparently taking revenge for the capture by the Kurds of rebel leader Abu Musab. Five hundred civilians were initially abducted but some were released in agreement with the Kurds, who also released Musab. Around 200 people are believed to still be the hands of the Jihadists.
“In these areas, there has long been confrontation between the troops of the international extremists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and local Kurdish militias who stood up to protect their homes from attacks by radical Islamists,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a July statement.
The Kurds are the main obstacle to the Islamists declaring a de facto state of their own in the northeast of Syria – an area which Syrian President Bashar Assad has little control over.
Barzani’s comments are further proof of how Syria’s two-year conflict is spilling over into neighboring countries.

The northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan - which already has its own government and armed forces - has also begun to pursue independent energy and foreign policies, which has infuriated the Shi’ite government of Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad. Northern Iraq is the only area of the country which has seen peace and a semblance of stability since American troops left in 2011. Hmmm......Seems like in the end the Kurds will be the 'king makers'.Read the full story here.

Resource Rapture: Maliki Moves To Control Kurdistan’s Energy Assets.

Resource Rapture: Maliki Moves To Control Kurdistan’s Energy Assets.(SR).The recent increase of Iraqi troops in resource-rich contested areas is fuelling fears that the subsequent escalation of tension could develop into full-scale war between the Shiite Iraqi government and the area known as Iraqi Kurdistan.
Iraqi encroachment on the city of Kirkuk is one of the reasons for the recent escalation as the Kurdistan Regional Government has issued a number of statements compelling Iraq to back away from this area, threatening war should it continue with its current aggressive policy.
Hasan Selim Ozertem, a specialist from the Center for Energy Security Studies at USAK discussed the reasons and context of this escalation, stating that, “Prime Minister Maliki is trying to expand Baghdad’s sovereignty at the expense of Kurdish autonomy for two main reasons. The first of which is the rent sharing problem in Iraq which is exacerbated by the blurred articles in the Iraqi constitution refereeing to who has control over energy resources in the region. Similarly, Arbil takes unilateral steps and makes agreements with international companies at the expense of the Iraqi government which disturbs Maliki.”
Moreover the undecided status of Kirkuk in Iraq makes the problem more complicated because having waste oil and gas reserves.
The Kirkuk problem and the constitution present the main deadlocks in this intractable issue.
Iraq’s motivations can additionally be looked at as a result of increasing ties between the KRG and the international community regarding oil and gas exports undermining Iraq’s own economic interests and encroaching on its sovereignty as the contested areas would become part of a de facto Kurdish state.
Since the conflict on November 16th in Tuz Khurmato where two people were killed, the situation has become even more militarised with Kurdish fighters, including 125 tanks, and heavily armed Iraqi units flocking to the area. Furthermore, Iraq has recently signed a military agreement with the US meaning the government will soon be in possession of F16′s worth $3 billion, a potential motivation for the KRG to enter into a conflict now while the playing field remains relatively even.
With such an influx of troops and tension on both sides, the conflict has become a stale-mate with neither side wanting to exacerbate the situation further. There is to be a meeting between the KRG and the Iraqi government in Baghdad today to try and resolve the conflict, with Iraq’s parliamentary speaker stating that “significant progress” had been made so far. However, Hasan Ozertem argues that “despite both Baghdad’s and Arbil’s attempts at diplomacy, it seems its difficult to find a long-lasting solution to the problem.”
The following days will tell whether this will turn into a full-fledged crisis rather than a demonstration of brinkmanship on both sides, however what is assured is that this, as with many Middle Eastern conflicts, will not be resolved by any kind of temporary agreement or cease-fire. The enduring contestation over the ownership of this land, its vast resources and the sectarian tensions which fuel these tensions further make this as intractable a conflict as ever. Furthermore, any escalation in violence will certainly have a detrimental effect on the fragile stability of the region given the strategic and geopolitical significance of Iraq and risking the possible deterioration of the state; a country teetering on the edge of failed-statehood due to multiple invasions, wars, ethnic tensions and resource competition between the federal government and the KRG.Read the full story here.

Related:  Iraq warns Russia's Gazprom over Kurdistan oil deals

Russian Black Sea fleet destroyer Smetliviy, which has missile capability passed through Istanbul and the Çanakkale straits.

Russian Black Sea fleet destroyer Smetliviy, which has missile capability passed through Istanbul and the Çanakkale straits.(HD).Russian Black Sea fleet destroyer Smetliviy, which has missile capability, passed through Istanbul and the Çanakkale straits on Oct. 19 as a part of its Mediterranean patrol. It also took the same route in July this year. Its destination is not public knowledge, but it would not be surprising to see it appear in the Eastern Mediterranean. This is because there is the only relevant Russian military base in the whole Middle East, in the port of Tartus in civil war-hit Syria. Meanwhile, south of Syria, the U.S. is getting prepared to perform its biggest joint military exercise ever with Israel, in which 3,500 troops are expected to take part, along with anti-missile batteries and missile warships from the U.S. Navy. This is obviously a move by U.S. President Barack Obama to deter Iran and sooth Israel, right on the eve of elections on Nov. 6. The message is: “We don’t want to get involved in another war, but we are ready to defend Israel.” 
Along Syria’s northern borders, Turkey carried out another military exercise - a small scale one involving tank battalions - on Oct. 18. General Necdet Özel, the Turkish Chief of General Staff, recently completed his inspections of the naval forces, after the troops along the Syrian border received orders from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan to upgrade the war readiness of all forces.
On the other side of Turkey’s northeastern borders, Armenia recently completed a military exercise against the growing influence of oil and gas-rich Azerbaijan, which has had a fifth of its territory under Armenian occupation for nearly 20 years now. 
In Iraq, tension is growing between the Nouri al-Maliki government in Baghdad and Massoud Barzani’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the north, by Turkish and Iranian borders.
Iran has been engaging in one military exercise after another and is already testing new missiles. I asked a ranking Turkish diplomat whether the whole region was heading into a larger-scale conflict as a matter of infection from the Syrian war. This region, by the way, is defined by the oil and gas of the Arabian, Basra, Mezopotamia and Caspian basins, which represents a serious portion of the total global energy output. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Nothing’s going to happen. Military exercises have taken place in this part of the world for decades. Relax and have a good weekend.” He pretended as if he was not joking.Hmmmm......Try to stop me for inspection?Read the full story here.

Turkish Kurd militants threaten Turkey if it enters Syria.

Turkish Kurd militants threaten Turkey if it enters Syria.(Stratrisks).ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Kurd militants threatened on Thursday to turn all Kurdish populated areas into a “war zone” if Turkish troops entered Syria, a sign the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has allies in Syria may be taking sides in the conflict there.
A renewed alliance between Damascus and the PKK would anger Turkey and could prompt it to take an even stronger line against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over his brutal repression of anti-government protesters.
PKK field commander Murat Karayilan said Turkey was preparing the ground for an intervention in Syria.
“The Turkish state is planning an intervention against our people,” the Europe-based Firat news agency, close to the militants, quoted him as saying.
“Let me state clearly, if the Turkish state intervenes against our people in western Kurdistan, all of Kurdistan will turn into a war zone,” he said.
Western Kurdistan is the term Kurdish nationalists use to describe Kurdish areas of northeast Syria, while by Kurdistan they mean the Kurdish areas of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said last week that setting up a “safe zone” or a “buffer zone” along the border with Syria to protect civilians from Assad’s forces was among the options being considered should the stream of refugees turn into a flood.
Setting up such a zone would involve troops entering Syria to secure territory. Turkey has turned sharply against its former friend Assad and has taken a lead in trying to forge international agreement on the need for stronger action on Syria.
While Syrian government forces are clashing daily with insurgents demanding the downfall of Assad, Syrian Kurdish areas have remained relatively calm, despite many Kurds’ long-standing opposition to the government.
Some Syrian Kurdish groups opposed to Assad have formed their own umbrella group after complaining of being sidelined by the main opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), which they say is dominated by Arab nationalists.
But the comparative calm in Syria’s Kurdish northeast may also be related to what some Kurdish analysts say is the growing influence of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Syrian Kurdish group allied to the PKK which has kept away from the opposition.Turkish officials say they are watching closely for signs Syria may renew its support for the PKK, which it dropped in late 1998 after Turkish tanks massed on the Syrian border. Damascus was forced to deport PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan who was later seized by Turkish special forces in Kenya.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has repeatedly said Syria “would not dare” make such a mistake again.Kurds make up at least 10 percent of Syria’s population. Like the majority of Syrians, they are Sunni Muslims, but have struggled to assert their ethnic identity under 40 years of Arab nationalist Ba’ath Party rule.Read the full story here.

Iraqi Kurd leader Massoud Barzani threatens secession unless power share demands met.

Iraqi Kurd leader Massoud Barzani threatens secession unless power share demands met.(AA).The president of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region has demanded that officials agree to their demands or face consequences of a secession from Baghdad by September. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, the Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani demanded that the Shiite leaders agree on sharing power with their political opponents. “What threatens the unity of Iraq is dictatorship and authoritarian rule,” Barzani said in a 45-minute interview in his sprawling office outside of Irbil, the capital of the Kurdish region he leads in northern Iraq. “If Iraq heads toward a democratic state, then there will be no trouble. But if Iraq heads toward a dictatorial state, then we will not be able to live with dictatorship.” He called it a “very dangerous political crisis in the country” and said the impasse must be broken by September, when voters in the Kurdish region may consider a referendum for a state independent of Iraq. “They have to decide if they are willing to accept to live under a dictatorial regime or not,” he said. “They have to make that decision. It is their natural right.” Barzani’s warning speaks of fears about a Shiite domination in Iraq’s government and how it has revived secession dreams the United States military had tried to contain. The leader however, said that he is still committed to negotiating a compromise before promoting secession. He said he would hold on to it if the government logjam continues for much longer. He is the highest-ranking Iraqi official to disavow Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government for sidelining its political opponents and, in some cases, persecuting them in what critics call an unabashed power grab.Hmmmm.......... The Kurds kingmakers.Read the full story here.

Price of “Kurdistan’s” independence – oil agreement for 50 years?

Price of “Kurdistan’s” independence – oil agreement for 50 years?(SR).During a visit of the head of the Kurdish regional government (KRG) in northern Iraq, Massoud Barzani, to Turkey the sides discussed a number of issues, including measures against terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which turned into a headache for both sides. Most of the Kurdish leader’s meetings with officials from Turkey and a meeting with former Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi were held behind closed doors. On the second day of his visit to Ankara after talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul Barzani made not new, but this time more important statement. Barzani said he would not allow the terrorist PKK to dominate the territory controlled by the KRG in northern Iraq. However he noted that weapons can not solve the problem of the PKK, more effective option is needed. He said he will continue to exert pressure on the terrorist organization. Of course, Barzani statements do not mean that the PKK, which poses itself as the defender of the Kurds, will soon abandon armed resistance. However, if we look at political changes happening in the region, especially in recent years, it can be noticed that the PKK’s armed resistance is not in the interests of the KRG in northern Iraq, because it can lead to instability in northern Iraq, achieved thanks to the policy of Barzani. That could pose a serious threat to the future of at least partially independent Kurdish administration in Iraq. At the same time we can not exclude that during the talks in Turkey, Barzani discussed the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq. In this connection it is worth recalling that previously Barzani announced the imminent appearance on a map of the region of an independent Kurdish state. Many political analysts even argue that the establishment of a Kurdish state is not contrary to the interests of Ankara.
However, without a doubt, in exchange, Turkey will put forward specific requirements to the KRG. One of these requirements is a joint action to eliminate the PKK. However, Ankara realizes that this requirement will not be as effective and for this reason, in exchange for a “green light” put forward more serious requirement. There is a reason to believe that this requirement is related to oil, located in the KRG-controlled territory, and that this issue was discussed during a meeting of Barzani with the Turkish officials. Some Turkish media, citing diplomatic sources, reported that in exchange for recognition of “independence” of Kurdistan Turkey requires 50 percent of oil produced in the territory controlled by the KRG, and for a period of 50 years. But, according to sources, Barzani has not accepted this offer.
This is not surprising, because it is very important for new “independent Kurdistan” state to have economic power. For this it needs to retain control over its oil fields. The Ankara’s offer does not suit Barzani also because there is a suitable alternative – Syria, which has access to the sea, and therefore to the world market. In this situation, the KRG is unlikely to share its wealth with Turkey. Even if the KRG in northern Iraq cooperates with Ankara for its future security, it will not agree on such serious concessions in the oil issue. The issue of why until now the Kurdish administration has not declared independence is not due to KRG fears of Ankara and Baghdad. The KRG is waiting for the end of the Syrian crisis, because not only the Gulf’s Arab states, but also the KRG are interested in the change of government in Damascus. 
There is a strong likelihood that after the regime change in Syria Kurds, who live compactly in the north of the country, will make efforts to gain autonomy or independence within Syria.Even the Turkish opposition leader, chairman of the Republican People’s Party, Kamal Kilicdaroglu in his last statement noted that in the case of military intervention in Syria, as the United States wants it, the Kurdish region in the country will gain sovereignty.To highlight the timing and importance of his F-16 statement, Barzani raised his voice on the next day he returned his hometown from Turkey, when al-Maliki was still in Iran. If that was not alarming enough for the future of Iraq, a few more sentences could be quoted from what Barzani said. Recalling his oil deal with the American giant Exxon, to which al-Maliki has reacted, Barzani said: “If ExxonMobil comes it will be equal to 10 American military divisions. They will defend the area if their interests are there.” It should not be a surprise to anyone if things get worse in Iraq in the coming days and weeks. Hmmmm.......Perhaps Israel should support an independent Kurdistan?Read the full story here.

Oil rift deepens Baghdad-Kurds dispute.

Oil rift deepens Baghdad-Kurds dispute.(UPI).Tensions between Baghdad and Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish enclave have intensified after the Kurds halted oil exports in a payment dispute and the government signed a deal with BP to develop the Kirkuk oil fields the Kurds claim are theirs. “Oil is obviously at the forefront of every decision Baghdad makes and the fact that all of its hydrocarbons are located far from the capital is beginning to make the government’s position more precarious,” the Middle East Economic Digest observed recently.
Baghdad is increasingly alarmed at how the Kurdistan Regional Government, based in the northern city of Irbil, is attracting international oil companies to conduct exploration in the three Kurdish provinces along the northern borderlands. Baghdad refuses to recognize the deals the KRG has signed with 40 small foreign oil companies, insisting the government is the sole authority when it comes to oil contracts. But Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government was severely jolted in October 2011 when the world’s largest oil company, Exxon Mobil of the United States, defied Baghdad and signed a six-block deal with Irbil. Baghdad declared that illegal. Tensions have risen since Exxon’s surprise move that jeopardized its stake in the huge West Qurna 1 field in the south. The company refuses to back down but so far it hasn’t begun drilling in Kurdistan. 
On March 25, the state-owned North Oil Co. announced it had signed a preliminary deal with BP to develop the northern Kirkuk oilfields, which contain one-third of Iraq’s reserves of 143.1 billion barrels. That was slap in the face for the KRG, which claims the city of Kirkuk and the oil fields are Kurdish territory because they formed a Kurdish province ruled by the Ottomans for 400 years. The BP deal, designed to boost Kirkuk production from 280,000 barrels per day to 580,000 bpd, was widely seen as Baghdad’s response to the KRG’s controversial contract with Exxon Mobil.
On Sunday, the KRG struck back by cutting back its oil exports, accusing Baghdad of failing to make payments totaling $1.5 billion since 2011. The KRG’s exports were reduced to 50,000 bpd from an estimated 90,000 bpd. Irbil threatened to cut off exports altogether within a month if Baghdad continued to withhold payment. Baghdad said it had allocated $560 million for the KRG but the dispute continues.
The rift has been magnified by the KRG giving sanctuary to Iraq’s fugitive vice president, Tareq al-Hashemi, and allowing him to flee to Qatar. Hashemi, the top Sunni politician in Maliki’s Shiite-dominated coalition, has been accused by the government of “aiding terrorists.” He denies the charges, which are widely seen as part of a widening crackdown by Maliki to eliminate his political rivals in the post-U.S. era. But it’s the feud over oil and revenue-sharing that dominates the widening rift between Baghdad and the Kurds. The outcome could have a far-reaching impact on Iraq’s future as it struggles to rebuild after decades of war, international sanctions and internal, sectarian rifts and on the minority Kurds’ determination to assert themselves as a long-suppressed people.
“Baghdad has an unenviable task of bringing together a country that has for so long been ripped apart by war and tyranny,” MEED observed. “Finding an effective and workable solution to selling its hydrocarbons should be its first priority.” The dispute centers primarily on Kirkuk, an ethnically mixed city where Saddam Hussein drove out the Kurds who once formed the majority and packed it with Arabs during his tyrannical rule. After the Americans toppled Saddam in April 2003, the Kurds, key U.S. allies during the invasion, reclaimed Kirkuk and its oil fields. Controlling them, along with reserves of an estimated 50 million barrels in Kurdistan, would form the economic backbone of the independent state for which the Kurds have fought for decades. The region has become a flashpoint between Iraq’s Arabs and the Kurds. U.S. forces kept the two sides apart but, now the Americans have left, the decades-old dispute between Kurds and Iraqi Arabs could ignite.
On top of that, Maliki’s dictatorial inclinations have prompted minority Sunni provinces to demand autonomy, threatening a possible breakup of the federal system established under the Americans. The Kurds are the effective kingmakers in Iraq’s often deadly politics and that gives the KRG in Irbil some high cards that Maliki ignores at his peril.Hmmmmm..........In mid-November, Barzani warned in an interview with Turkish television that the Iraqi Kurds would have no choice but to proclaim independence in the event of civil war.Obama: If We Work Hard, Afghanistan Could Be a Success...Like Iraq!
Read the full story here.

Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani accuses Iraqi PM of leading country to ‘dictatorship’.

Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani accuses Iraqi PM of leading country to ‘dictatorship’.(AlArabia).President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani criticized Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday and accused him of dragging the country to “dictatorship” and into the “abyss.”
“There is an attempt to establish a one-million strong army whose loyalty is only to a single person”“ Barzani said” referring to Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki.
In a speech marking the traditional Persian new year holiday, Barzani repeated a litany of Kurdish complaints, some of them specifically directed against Maliki for consolidating his hold on power in Baghdad.
“Where in the world can the same person be the prime minister, the chief of staff of the armed forces, the minister of defense, the minister of interior, the chief of intelligence and the head of the national security council?” he said, referring to powerful posts that Maliki has yet to allocate under a power-sharing agreement.
Barzani appeared to raise the stakes, with language suggesting he could seek a referendum of some kind on the Kurdish region's relations with Baghdad - although he stopped far short of breaking a taboo by making explicit reference to independence.“It is time to say enough is enough,” Barzani said in an official translation of his remarks on his website.
“The current status of affairs in unacceptable to us and I call on all Iraqi political leaders to urgently try and find a solution - otherwise we will return to our people and will decide on whatever course of action that our people deem appropriate.”
The comments could be seen as a veiled code for seeking independence, since most Kurds say they would vote to secede from Iraq if given a chance.The Kurdish region has flourished as the only part of Iraq to have avoided the extreme violence that followed the U.S.-British invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.Barzani's government receives a fixed percentage of Iraq's oil export wealth and maintains its own security forces.
While Baghdad and the rest of Iraq still have electricity for just a few hours a day and have barely seen even the most basic reconstruction after decades of sanctions and war, the Kurdish region is enjoying a massive building boom. Barzani rules with a firm grip.
He accused the central government of refusing to resolve a territorial dispute over the oil city of Kirkuk, which is outside the Kurdish region but regarded by Kurds as their historical homeland.
Funds due from the central government for Kurdish security forces have been “embezzled,” Barzani said. The central government was opposing Kurdish oil deals to prevent the Kurds from reaching their own economic potential.
“Iraq is facing a serious crisis. We have tried our utmost to prevent Iraq from descending into a sectarian conflict and we have consistently avoided taking sides in this conflict,” he said in Tuesday's speech.“It is very unfortunate that a small number of people in Baghdad have imposed themselves and monopolized power.”Hmmmm.......Obama: If We Work Hard, Afghanistan Could Be a Success...Like Iraq!Read the full story here.