Massoud Barzani Kurdish president; the happiest day of my life.

ynetnews ^ | 02.10.17 | Bernard-Henri Lévy

[Rabin]

“I’ve been fighting for half a century. With my people I have been through mass killings, deportations, gassings. In 1991 after the first war against Saddam, the democracies came to our rescue but left the dictatorship in place, thus casting us back into the shadows. During those decades of resistance, of hopes dashed and reborn… never imagined that in my people would finally come together and express to the world their desire to be democratic and free. That day came; and it is the happiest day of my life. It’s as if everything I’ve done and dreamed of, all of the struggles that we went through together, converged at that moment.”

[Rabin]

Advisers surrounding Barzani Tuesday morning in the Salahaddin presidential palace north of Erbil hasten to observe that the outcome of the referendum is just the beginning.

Raben

[sparklite2]

Good luck. From another source:

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The United States, major European countries and neighbours Turkey and Iran strongly opposed the decision to hold the referendum, which they described as destabilizing at a time when all sides are still fighting against Islamic State militants.

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I think it’s more a case of striking while the iron is hot. It has been amply demonstrated that the Kurds will not get their nation in normal times.

[headstamp 2]

“And all this time I knew it was Barzini”

[Slyfox]

Bookmark

[sagar]

Time to redraw West, Central, and South Asia. Trump may go down as the greatest world leader if he finishes what Bush started.

[BeauBo]

Massoud Barzani fought for his people’s independence for nearly 50 years. ‘Now I can die,’ he tells French Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy the morning after the historic vote.

He turned toward his companions as if he were reviewing them.

“Burned into the memory of every one of us is first-hand knowledge of the worst that man can do to man. We are all well aware of that. And that time is over. Never again we will allow ourselves to be treated thus."

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Rabin.

[dadfly]

finally some good news for the middle east. i believe, the Kurds have paid the price and thus know the value of freedom. perhaps they’ll “keep it” for a while. may God keep our gov’t from stopping them.

[octex]

fta...In 1991 after the first war against Saddam, the democracies came to our rescue but left the dictatorship in place, thus casting us back into the shadows.
***************************************************
That can be fully blamed on Chmn. of the JCOS, Colon Powell, and weak-kneed Bush 41 who listened to him instead of letting Stormin’ Norman finish the task of taking out Saddam Hussein.

Similar to Truman stopping MacArthur from going further into Korea. ....Both decisions led to the problems we now face in those countries.

[silverleaf]

That was realpolitik
Turkey was far more important to our strategic interests than Kurdistan
The big thing against Saddam going jnto Kuwait was about not drawing new borders
So we didnt
Now we are in that awkward place of having used the Kurds as allies for decades in return for at least implicit promises of recognizing their autonomy if and when victory was achieved - which is closer than ever

[Texas Fossil]

Thank you for posting.

[Texas Fossil]

Meant to say.

Thank you for the Ping.