Newshoggers Comments
Chances are, the US turned a blind eye to the PKK to punish Turkey for refusing to permit a second front in the Iraqi invasion. Vindictiveness is one of the few things the neocons get consistently right.
The other thing is that Cheney's office would regard a war in and around Kurdistan as a means to solve a few problems. Turkey invading Iraq would unite Iraqis against a common enemy. Iran attacking Kurdistan would give the US an excuse to 'protect Iraqi territorial integrity' by bombing Iran. There are some factions in the Pentagon which believe national borders in the middle east should be redrawn; war would facilitate some of this. And so on.
The #1 mistake all to many people make these days when assessing US foreign policy is in assuming that the US wants peace. That is no longer true. US policy makes much more sense through the lens of desiring war.
Anon, I'm very much afraid I'm beginning to agree with you. No-one could be this dumb ALL the time unless it was on purpose.
Regards, C
Iran attacking Kurdistan would give the US an excuse to 'protect Iraqi territorial integrity' by bombing Iran.
Against what freaking cost?
It's ludicrous.
Turkey invading Iraq would unite Iraqis against a common enemy.
I'm not so sure about this. The Sunnis and Turcomen (even some Shiites) who are battling the Kurds for Kirkuk sure wouldn't "unite." And the Shiites in the south who are too busy slugging it out with each other in a game of "king of the mountain" to want to divert arms, troops and resources up north to defend a region of Iraq that has made it very clear for some years now that it doesn't consider itself Iraqi (see, ie, rules about non-Kurdish troops in Kurdistan, Iraqi flag, languages taught, near-autonomy, etc.)
Iran attacking Kurdistan would give the US an excuse to 'protect Iraqi territorial integrity' by bombing Iran.
This seems entirely more plausible, but then: look out American troops in Iraq. The Shiites (Sadr and Badr in particular) might not take too kindly to such an act.
That could bring us closet to helos on rooftops than we've ever been (in Iraq).
and by "closet" I meant "closer"...
Michael,
Have you not been following the reports of Cheney's aide drumming up support for war with Iran and the factional feud between Cheney and Rice over that very thing? There's at least a portion of the Bush administration doesn't think attacking Iran on a pretext is crazy.
Regards, C
Against what freaking cost?
What does the administration care about costs? The Decider Guy thinks he's the messiah, Cheney-Haliburton gets no-bid payoffs regardless of how any war turns out. The lower level staffers have a revolving door into the next Republican administration--just ask Elliot "Iran Contra" Abrams. Finally, most of these people are expecting to be raptured Real Soon Now anyway. Nobody gives a shit about costs because they're not going to be personally effected.
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