Posted on 09/30/2017 6:14:20 AM PDT by huldah1776
BAGHDAD — The United States on Friday declared illegitimate Monday’s Kurdish referendum on independence, as the Iraqi government imposed a ban on international flights to airports operated by the Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraqi troops prepared to seize the semiautonomous region’s border controls.
“The United States does not recognize the . . . unilateral referendum,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in Washington’s first substantive statement on the vote, in which nearly 93 percent of voters in the Kurdistan region approved declaring an autonomous state in northern Iraq.
“The vote and the results lack legitimacy,” Tillerson said, “and we continue to support a united, federal, democratic and prosperous Iraq.” He urged both sides to reject the use of force and engage in dialogue, and to remain focused on the fight against the Islamic State, which he said was “not over.”
snip
Iraqi soldiers are massing on the Iranian and Turkish borders with the Kurdish region, preparing to take control of the crossings from Kurdish authorities, according to a senior Iraqi official familiar with the plan. The Iraqi army chief of staff traveled to both countries this week to coordinate the move, the official said, which could begin as early as Saturday. Turkey and Iran, which have their own restive Kurdish populations, opposed the referendum, as did the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
"The analysis of whether a territory such as the Kurdistan Region may seek independence must begin, but not end, with the law of the governing country. Iraq’s 2005 Constitution explicitly recognizes the Kurdistan Region as a semi-autonomous region, but is silent on a process for secession. We must therefore look to international law. Self-determination — defined as the process by which a country determines its own statehood and forms its own allegiances and government — is enshrined as a fundamental right under international law by the United Nations Charter.
"Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention sets out the most widely accepted formulation of the criteria for statehood under international law. It provides that states should possess the following characteristics: 1) a permanent population, 2) a defined territory, 3) a government, and 4) capacity to enter into relations with other states. Because the Kurdistan Region has been functionally separate from the rest of Iraq since 1991 and legally recognized as a semi-autonomous region with its own government since at least the ratification of Iraq’s 2005 Constitution, it had a head start on meeting each of these criteria. In many ways, it has already satisfied them."
July 16, 2017 exerpt from: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jul/26/kurdistan-referendum-stands-on-solid-legal-footing/
Also, get this, "Tea Party leaders, Democrats unite for Kurdish independence"
Jordan Schachtel wrote this yesterday at Conservative Review.
"THERE’S OVERWHELMING SUPPORT IN CONGRESS” FOR KURDISTAN.
"In a congressional atmosphere where bipartisanship is hard to find, Republicans and Democrats are coming together to support an independent Kurdistan, as the executive branch struggles to define its position on the issue.
"On the Republican side, Tea Party leader Trent Franks of Arizona introduced legislation this week expressing that “the people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have the right to determine their status as a sovereign country.”
"In supporting Kurdish independence, Rep. Franks called the Kurdish people a “historically proven ally against tyranny and terror, including against Saddam Hussein’s regime, and terror groups such as al Qaeda.”
"This week, two House Republicans — Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, and Rep. Ralph Lee Abraham, R-La. — co-sponsored the bill. “The Kurdish fighting force, the Peshmerga, have been effective in the fight against the radical Islamic terrorists that comprise the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS),” Rep. King said in announcing support for an independent Kurdistan. “The Kurds are a proud, independent people who have long been persecuted and who have earned the right to form an independent state. They would be a long-term ally of the United States.”
from: https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/tea-party-leaders-democrats-unite-for-kurdish-independence
CR also noted that dems Schumer and Engel support Kurd independence.
Why not since Iraq is cozying up with IRAN? I would venture to guess that it is the threat of the kurds not having good ground upon which to fight a 360* war for independence. How would we help them? My son always beat me at RISK so I'm not a good source for a battle plan.
No matter how bad the situation actually is.
No truth is ever gained from a visit to the Washington ComPost.
It is never about substance, always about anti-American Agenda.
“...The United States does not recognize the ...... the unilateral referendum...”
*******************************************
That’s right Tillerson...and, while you’re at it, screw that American Declaration of Independence — it’s just too unilateral.
The Obama-Tillerson State Department speaks!
Let the Kurds have their way
Why should the Kurds not have the same right to independence as the U. S. does? They should not be bound by old decrees by the British who screwed up the Middle East.
Who thought Tillerson as SOS was a good idea?
FREE the KURDS!!! Joe Biden only had ONE GOOD IDEA....split up Iraq into 3 countries.....seems like it would have solved a TON of problems and saved a BOATLOAD of money.
So says the self-styled fourth branch of American government.
I think Kurd independence would be a net positive. The Turks hate the idea, which means it is probably a good idea.
The US state department, on the wrong side, as usual
I hope Tillerson leaves soon. I hope he is replaced by someone less concerned with ‘acting globally’.
I heard Trump wants to give his post to Nikki Haley, but she likes where she is. I can’t blame her for holding on to something stable. The administration has been a rocky ride of changes during it’s first year. Not surprising, probably not preventable, given all the enemies and artificial roadblocks.
So nothing’s improved at the Snake Department. Someday someday someday President Trump might remember he promised to Drain the Swamp ???
Amen...Let the Kurds have their way
Nothing good will come out of Turkey or Iran.
And what about Turkey? Depriving the of Kurdish regions would have no downside.
I see what you did there
Fire Tillerson.
He has not drained the State Dep swamp.
That swamp has remained in place and he is FOLLOWING them.
The US warned Croatia and Slovenia not to declare unilateral independence. Four days later they did anyway.The ICJ in 2010 indicated they were not illegal internationally.
A breakup in this case is good as it serves to avoid a monolithic Islamic state - a no no and particularly if Iraq is inclined to form an axis with Iran.
Shut up Tillerson. Though we can’t rule out postering.
The policy began with Bush, not Obama.
As Bush said: if you partition the northern Kurds, the western Sunni, and the southern Shia, then the oil becomes partitioned, and they will never stop fighting over the oil.
To begin with, the only way the Kurdish oil could reach market was ship via pipeline south to the Persian gulf and the Kurds would get their cut from the Iraq central govt.
Then, the pipeline thru Turkey to the Mediterranean was built and the Kurds could send their oil that way but problems arose. Nobody wanted to buy the oil for fear of court action.
Obama forced Maliki out of office and the conflict between the Shia and Kurds over the oil was solved..
If the Kurds are given a state, Turkey will shut down that pipeline from northern Iraq thru Turkey to the Mediterranean.
Ah, the ‘policemen of the world’ has spoken. Make it so /s
Kurds should tell Tillerson/State to ESAD.
And then everyone else with a vote?
Let them win it against a challenge from Iraq, then we recognize.
At first I disagreed with Biden and now I think he was right. These countries should never have been created the way they were in 1919 and were a result of Wilson’s egomaniac micro-managing. The only problem with their independence is that this is the ultimate act of nation-building and another country would perhaps become a player in the international nuclear game. That said, they need support of other nations and the UN to be able to make it. Look at the history of the Biafra attempt at independence. Spitting in the wind. If Kurdistan would be sponsored by Russia or the US militarily, they would be ok. Turkey would never let this happen.
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