I worked PSD in Iraq for a few years. Used to take folks to see Barzani and other high ranking Kurdish officials. The differences between the Kurds and the arabs were ridiculous. They were so hospitable and friendly. Of course, all the Kurds were guarded by the Peshmerga, who’d chop your head off just as quick as they’d offer you some chai. But, they saved all that aggression for the arabs. When we went to the other Iraqi compounds it was gross.
They took offense to foreign PSD teams having visible weapons, so teams were required to leave their rifles in their vehicles and had to conceal their pistols. As far as the Peshmerga was concerned, they could and did handle their problems.
What’s interesting, is that right before I gave up working over there, three of the big hotel chains were in the process of building hotels in the Kurdistan. The Kurds are normal and want normal relations with the rest of the world, unlike the savages/idiots to the south.
bttt
Thanks for that info—velly intellesting!