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Iraq Escalates Dispute With Kurds, Threatening Military Action


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ERBIL, Iraq — The Iraqi government escalated its confrontation with its northern Kurdish region on Wednesday, threatening to send troops and seize oil fields there and taking steps to shut down international flights to and from the region.
The moves came in retaliation for a referendum on Monday in which the region, Iraqi Kurdistan, voted decisively to seek independence from Iraq. Kurdish officials announced Wednesday that nearly 93 percent of voters approved the referendum, which aims to create an independent state for the Kurds, an ethnic minority in Iraq.
Iraq’s Parliament asked the country’s prime minister on Wednesday to deploy troops to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, one of several disputed areas held by Kurdish troops but claimed by Baghdad, and to take control of all oil fields in the Kurdish region.
A decision to send troops would be up to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. He gave no public indication of his intentions on Wednesday, except to say he wanted “no fighting among the people of the country.”

 

He also sent a delegation from the Iraqi military to Iran to “coordinate military efforts,” a military statement said.
Iraq has called the vote illegal and has vowed to ignore the results. The vote has also provoked the Kurdish region’s two powerful neighbors, Turkey and Iran.
All three countries have been conducting military exercises near the border of Iraqi Kurdistan this week.
Iraqi troops, including Shiite Muslim militias incorporated into Iraq’s armed forces, are already in the Kirkuk area. While the city is controlled by Kurdish forces, Iraqi troops are fighting the Islamic State as part of an American-led coalition about 40 miles southwest of the city.
Photo 

 

Iraq ordered Kurdish authorities to surrender control of the region’s two international airports, including the one in Erbil, or face a shutdown of all international flights, starting Friday.

Kurdish troops known as pesh merga seized Kirkuk in 2014, when the Iraqi Army fled an assault by militants there.
The inclusion of Kirkuk and other disputed areas in the referendum enraged the Iraqi government, which interpreted the move as a land grab. Baghdad has accused the Kurds of illegally selling Iraqi oil from the Kirkuk oil fields through a pipeline that runs into Turkey.
The Kurdish independence challenge is the latest crisis to rock Iraq in recent years. The country was controlled by Saddam Hussein’s regime until 2003, when the American invasion helped set off a brutal civil war and years of wrenching upheaval.
Just three years ago, Iraq lost a third of its territory to Islamic State militants. Now that the Islamic State is finally being driven out, Iraq is faced with losing a third of its territory and access to areas with oil and natural gas if Kurdistan breaks away.
Beyond the threats of military action, Iraqi authorities have struggled to come up with any meaningful punishment for the Kurds for carrying out the referendum. But with its move to shut down flights to the landlocked region, Iraq seems to have found a weak point.

 

Iraqi aviation authorities notified foreign airlines on Wednesday that it would cancel all permits to land and take off from two international airports in the Kurdish region as of Friday afternoon. The action followed an ultimatum by Prime Minister Abadi on Tuesday for Kurdistan to surrender control of its two international airports or face a shutdown of international flights.
The Kurdish Regional Government said Wednesday that it would refuse to hand over the airports. The region’s transportation minister, Mawlud Murad, called the Iraqi ultimatum “political and illegal.” He said the airports were critical to the American-led coalition’s fight against Islamic State militants.
Kurdish officials had planned to send a delegation to Baghdad on Wednesday to discuss the issue, but the offer was rebuffed.

 

On Wednesday night, Mr. Murad said that the Kurdish government had agreed to hold talks with Iraq about placing Iraqi government observers at its airports.

People celebrated on the streets of Erbil after the referendum results were announced. Credit Ivor Prickett for The New York Times 
There was no immediate public response from the Iraqi government, but Mr. Abadi, speaking to Parliament earlier, said Iraq would not negotiate with the Kurds unless they annulled the results of the vote.

 

He said he had warned the Kurds “of the consequences of the crisis with Kurdistan.”
“The preservation of the security of the citizens of the country is our priority,” he added.
At least six airlines — three Turkish companies, the Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines, Royal Jordanian and Egypt Air — started notifying passengers on Wednesday that they were canceling regularly scheduled flights from the airports in Erbil and Sulaimaniya.
Baghdad can make good on its threat because the Iraqi civil aviation authority oversees all airports in the country, including the two international airports in the Kurdish region.
The threat to cancel landing and takeoff permits would force international airlines to cancel flights to those airports because insurance risks would be too high, according to Robert W. Mann Jr., a former airline executive who is now an industry consultant.

 

“The issue turns on which entity controls Kurdish region airspace and airports,” Mr. Mann said. “Unless and until the autonomous region is given that control, Iraq controls and can ban, blockade or embargo air service to airports under its control, much as Qatari airports have been embargoed or blockaded by nearby nations. Faced with such a restriction, most commercial airlines would comply, in part due to warnings by their insurers.”
The Turkish Consulate in Erbil said that Turkish airlines were working to increase their seat capacity in an effort to get all passengers out of the Kurdish areas before the flight ban took effect on Friday afternoon.

 

Without international flights, getting in or out of Kurdistan would require going through Turkey, Iran, Syria or Iraq, where there are also threats of a blockade.
The Iraqi Parliament urged the government on Wednesday to close off its land border with Kurdistan.
For years, the Kurdish authorities in Erbil have controlled their own borders with Turkey and Syria. Mr. Abadi has demanded that all borders return to full Iraqi central government control by Friday.

A Turkish and Iraqi joint military exercise in Turkey near the border of Iraqi Kurdistan. Credit Ilyas Akengin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 

 

Turkey’s customs minister, in remarks carried by Turkish state television, said that the main land border crossing between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdish region remained open, although he would not say for how long that would remain the case.
Turkey is the largest trade partner with Iraqi Kurdistan, and the road border is used for much of the cargo trade. Turkey also is the transit country for the oil pumped out of areas controlled by the Kurdish authorities to the world market.

 

Turkey and Iran have opposed the referendum and any moves toward Kurdish independence, fearing unrest by their own Kurdish minorities.
Kurdish authorities in Erbil announced on Wednesday that 92.7 percent of those who went to the polls on Monday had voted for Kurdish leaders to seek independence. About 72 percent of 4.6 million registered voters cast ballots, with about 2.9 million voting yes to independence and about 224,000 voting no, the Kurdish Independent High Electoral Referendum Commission reported.
The referendum does not automatically trigger a declaration of independence but sets in motion a series of moves toward the establishment of a Kurdish state. The most important one of those may be negotiations of a separation with Iraq, which Iraq has refused.
American officials opposed the vote because they feared it would destabilize Iraq, stir ethnic conflict and undermine the American-led coalition.

 

Kurdish pesh merga fighters have played a central role in the coalition’s operations against the Islamic State militants, fighting alongside Iraqi Army units.
The Kurdish region’s president, Massoud Barzani, pushed for the referendum in hopes of obtaining a strong public mandate for eventual independence that he could use to begin negotiations with Baghdad.

 

Kurds have been celebrating since Monday evening, setting off fireworks, honking horns and affixing flapping red, white and green Kurdish flags to their automobiles. Government billboards promoting Monday’s independence vote were still in place on Wednesday.

 

New York Times
Follow David Zucchino on Twitter @davidzucchino and Margaret Coker @nytmargaret
David Zucchino reported from Erbil, Iraq, and Margaret Coker from Ankara, Turkey. Reporting was contributed by Muhammad N. Mahmud from Erbil, Carlotta Gall from Istanbul, Falih Hassan from Baghdad, Nour Youssef from Cairo and Hwaida Saad from Beirut, Lebanon.

 

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15 minutes ago, Floridian said:

This is insanity!  

Finish one war and immediately start the next.  Don't even take a breath in between!

 

You couldn't make this up, if you tried!

If this were a movie, the critics would pan it as being too far-fetched to be believed.

Hahahaha. You are so right.

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I am afraid that this could happen though out the ME. When boarders were established there was no consideration for people they just added a line here and a line there.  Thus, we have groups of people separated by a line and yet they are working together or want to reestablish their  original borders. This is going to be a real test.  

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27 minutes ago, Floridian said:

This is insanity!  

Finish one war and immediately start the next.  Don't even take a breath in between!

 

You couldn't make this up, if you tried!

If this were a movie, the critics would pan it as being too far-fetched to be believed.

canadian bacon movie

kick their azzzzzes 

 

 

gone be on that for a bite now

funny movie

 

 

 

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36 minutes ago, Floridian said:

This is insanity!  

Finish one war and immediately start the next.  Don't even take a breath in between!

 

You couldn't make this up, if you tried!

If this were a movie, the critics would pan it as being too far-fetched to be believed.

The war with ISIS is not over. There was a report today saying there was a tape showing Al Bagdadi still alive.

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28 minutes ago, SnowGlobe7 said:

why does this article make me feel like this guy???

 

Related image

Snowglobe . If I'm not mistaken . This GIF is from the Rams recent heyday when they were in St. Louis which is my home town . If you notice . After such a vicious hit . The kick returner still held on to the ball . We were the greatest team on turf with one Super Bowl Championship to prove it . Just like Iraq is the wealthiest country on earth . We might look down but we are not out AND their will be Hell to pay when we get up . I say the world can not and will not  just sit by while things spiral like a dead fly in flight .They will be made to accept Unity One Way Or Another . Too much at Sake . Too Much has been put to Risk . Too Much for the World to Lose .

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3 minutes ago, blueskyline said:

Snowglobe . If I'm not mistaken . This GIF is from the Rams recent heyday when they were in St. Louis which is my home town . If you notice . After such a vicious hit . The kick returner still held on to the ball . We were the greatest team on turf with one Super Bowl Championship to prove it . Just like Iraq is the wealthiest country on earth . We might look down but we are not out AND their will be Hell to pay when we get up . I say the world can not and will not  just sit by while things spiral like a dead fly in flight .They will be made to accept Unity One Way Or Another . Too much at Sake . Too Much has been put to Risk . Too Much for the World to Lose .

 

I guess if this guy can get back up and do his job then we can too!

 

Thanks!!

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6 minutes ago, ladyGrace'sDaddy said:

And now the thoughts from the Bipolar, ranting, crazy, JesusFreak that actually believes the word of God as it is written.

Yeah that's me, and you're all on the naughty list.

Except my little Kitty, she can sit on my lap ANYDAY. :lol:

 

Has any of ya'll given the thought that all of this is pure B.S.? 

I mean have ya'll been watching the price of oil in the last week? 

:eek:

There is one thing that the Arabs know and like more than butchering people and that is MOOLAA.

:bagofmoney::bagofmoney::bagofmoney::bagofmoney:

And with the price of oil busting $60 a barrel at just the thought of this happening,

have ya'll considered what a week or so of this posturing will 

do for the cost of oil?

:eyebrows::moneybag::eyebrows::moneybag::eyebrows:

We recently saw that Barzani's net worth is approaching $400 billion dollars 

We know that Maliki stole something in the neighborhood of $100 billion dollars.

But not one person has said a word about what Abadi has gotten.

Do ya really think that he's doing for Iraq all that he's doing and NOT expecting a return on investment?

CAN YOU SAY RV

 

I am postulating that this posturing will lift the price of oil to $70+ dollars a barrel, 

and that in the short duration we will see with the absence of the Kurds from Parliament those all important laws being passed under the muddy waters of imminent war with the Kurds.

What do you think all those meetings between Baghdad and the Kurds were all about?

Why has it not occurred to anyone that for Iraq to do something as radical as raise the dinar to .10 cents or even $1 dollar

that they would need to make it look like a complete mess before it happened? 

We were told over ten years ago that just before the RV we would see what was to look like 

COMPLETE CHAOS. 

And to support system" rel="">support my theory I give you the Barzani's.

They have to know that this play will never work under the present circumstances. 

But more importantly they have to know that if this was real it would most likely end with the death of all of the Barzani's.

Not even Maliki was this bold. 

And the fact that Maliki is vehemently against this move tells me that the entire thing is a ruse designed to hide a miracle.

So don't dispair that your dreams of extreme wealth have vanished overnight.

And don't give up on your goals, 

for I have it that you will all get that which you so desire.

This ride is coming into the station. 

 

Please remain in your seats until the train has come to a complete stop.   

 

Mr. LGD,

Tough to reply from my current location but we'll try.

Bipolar... Thant would be me all the way (according to my wife at least).

Ranting... I have my days as well.

Jesus freak... I am as well in my own way for a Pirate of sorts. You spend enough time on the ocean and you attain a great deal of respect for the unseen.

Believe the word of God as written... I'm a math guy but attempt to grasp the concept as anything that has been around this long must have some credibility.

Thanks for the uplift.

It's good to see you posting so, Rant Away!

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21 minutes ago, ladyGrace'sDaddy said:

And now the thoughts from the Bipolar, ranting, crazy, JesusFreak that actually believes the word of God as it is written.

Yeah that's me, and you're all on the naughty list.

Except my little Kitty, she can sit on my lap ANYDAY. :lol:

 

Has any of ya'll given the thought that all of this is pure B.S.? 

I mean have ya'll been watching the price of oil in the last week? 

:eek:

There is one thing that the Arabs know and like more than butchering people and that is MOOLAA.

:bagofmoney::bagofmoney::bagofmoney::bagofmoney:

And with the price of oil busting $60 a barrel at just the thought of this happening,

have ya'll considered what a week or so of this posturing will 

do for the cost of oil?

:eyebrows::moneybag::eyebrows::moneybag::eyebrows:

We recently saw that Barzani's net worth is approaching $400 billion dollars 

We know that Maliki stole something in the neighborhood of $100 billion dollars.

But not one person has said a word about what Abadi has gotten.

Do ya really think that he's doing for Iraq all that he's doing and NOT expecting a return on investment?

CAN YOU SAY RV

 

I am postulating that this posturing will lift the price of oil to $70+ dollars a barrel, 

and that in the short duration we will see with the absence of the Kurds from Parliament those all important laws being passed under the muddy waters of imminent war with the Kurds.

What do you think all those meetings between Baghdad and the Kurds were all about?

Why has it not occurred to anyone that for Iraq to do something as radical as raise the dinar to .10 cents or even $1 dollar

that they would need to make it look like a complete mess before it happened? 

We were told over ten years ago that just before the RV we would see what was to look like 

COMPLETE CHAOS. 

And to support system" rel="">support my theory I give you the Barzani's.

They have to know that this play will never work under the present circumstances. 

But more importantly they have to know that if this was real it would most likely end with the death of all of the Barzani's.

Not even Maliki was this bold. 

And the fact that Maliki is vehemently against this move tells me that the entire thing is a ruse designed to hide a miracle.

So don't dispair that your dreams of extreme wealth have vanished overnight.

And don't give up on your goals, 

for I have it that you will all get that which you so desire.

This ride is coming into the station. 

 

Please remain in your seats until the train has come to a complete stop.   

 

Well said, I agree

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1 minute ago, CaptainBVI said:

Mr. LGD,

Tough to reply from my current location but we'll try.

Bipolar... Thant would be me all the way (according to my wife at least).

Ranting... I have my days as well.

Jesus freak... I am as well in my own way for a Pirate of sorts. You spend enough time on the ocean and you attain a great deal of respect for the unseen.

Believe the word of God as written... I'm a math guy but attempt to grasp the concept as anything that has been around this long must have some credibility.

Thanks for the uplift.

It's good to see you posting so, Rant Away!

OMG, 

Four yrs on the seas graduating from a Poliwag to a Shellback in 1984 I can tell you that I know exactly what you mean. 

The Sea will make you to have Great Respect for that which lays underneath and unseen. 

 

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1 minute ago, ladyGrace'sDaddy said:

OMG, 

Four yrs on the seas graduating from a Poliwag to a Shellback in 1984 I can tell you that I know exactly what you mean. 

The Sea will make you to have Great Respect for that which lays underneath and unseen. 

 

And what is above as well.

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