Kurds in Iraq get weapons from Bulgaria

Baghdad officials worry after 3 planeloads of arms arrive in north of country.

Kurdish officials this fall took delivery of three planeloads of small arms and ammunition imported from Bulgaria, three U.S. military officials said, an acquisition that occurred outside the weapons procurement procedures of Iraq's central government.

The large quantity of weapons and the timing of the shipment alarmed U.S. officials, who have grown concerned about the prospect of an armed confrontation between Iraqi Kurds and the government at a time when the Kurds are attempting to expand their control over parts of northern Iraq.
The weapons arrived in the northern city of Sulaymaniyah in September on three C-130 cargo planes, according to the three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Kurdish officials declined to answer questions about the shipments but released the following statement: "The Kurdistan Regional Government continues to be on the forefront of the war on terrorism in Iraq. With that continued threat, nothing in the constitution prevents the KRG from obtaining defense materials for its regional defense."

Oil-rich area
Iraq's ethnic Kurds maintain an autonomous region that comprises three of the country's 18 provinces. In recent months, the Shiite-led central government in Baghdad, which includes some Kurds in prominent positions, has accused Kurdish leaders of attempting to expand their territory by deploying their militia, known as pesh merga, to areas south of the autonomous region. Among other things, the Kurds and Iraq's government are at odds over control of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which lies outside the autonomous region, and over how Iraq's oil revenue ought to be distributed.

The Kurds of northern Iraq have run their affairs with increasing autonomy since 1991, when U.S. and British forces began enforcing a no-fly zone in northern Iraq to protect the region from President Saddam Hussein's military. The U.S.-led invasion in 2003 sparked concern that Iraqi Kurds would seek independence, but the Kurds have insisted that they wish to remain part of a federal Iraq.

Neighboring countries with large Kurdish minorities, including Turkey and Iran, have said they would oppose the emergence of an independent Kurdistan, as the autonomous region is known.

Iraq's interior minister, Jawad al-Bolani, said in an interview that central government officials did not authorize the purchase of weapons from Bulgaria. He said such an acquisition would constitute a "violation" of Iraqi law because only the Ministries of Interior and Defense are authorized to import weapons.

Experts on Iraq's constitution said the document does not clearly say whether provincial officials have the authority to import weapons. However, Iraqi and U.S. officials said the Ministries of Interior and Defense are the only entities authorized to import weapons. The Defense Ministry provides weapons to the Iraqi army, and the Interior Ministry procures arms for the country's police forces.

The Iraqi government has acquired the vast majority of its weapons through the Foreign Military Sales program, a U.S.-run procurement system, Brig. Gen. Charles D. Luckey, who assists the Iraqi government with weapons purchases, said Saturday. He said he knew of no instances in which provincial authorities had independently purchased weapons from abroad.

With thousands of American military officials involved in the training of Iraq's security forces, there is little the U.S. government does not know about weapons that are legally imported to Iraq. The shipments from Bulgaria in September caught the American military off guard, the three officials said. They first learned of the shipments from a source in Bulgaria, the officials said.

The three said they did not know whether U.S. officials had confronted Kurdish leaders about the shipments or alerted Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.

"Yes, the Kurds have this autonomous region and they're authorized to keep the pesh," one of the officials said, referring to the militia. "But arming themselves and bringing in weapons stealthily like that -- if I were the Iraqi government, I'd be pretty concerned."

While violence in Iraq has decreased markedly in recent months, political tension is rising as Iraqi leaders gear up for provincial and national elections scheduled to take place next year, and as they prepare for an era in which the U.S. military will have a smaller presence there.

Of the primary fault lines -- which include tension between Sunnis and Shiites and rivalry among Shiite political parties -- the rift between Kurds and the Arab-dominated Iraqi government has become a top concern in recent months. Senior government officials have engaged in a war of words, and Iraqi army and pesh merga units have come close to clashing.
"You could easily have a huge eruption of violence in the north," said Kenneth B. Katzman, a Middle East specialist at the Congressional Research Service in Washington. "Nothing having to do with the Kurds is resolved."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27867443/page/1/



As the article mentions, ALL of Iraq's neighbors (including Iran and NATO-member Turkey) and Iraq itself strictly oppose an independent Kurdistan. This land locked state is doomed, as it is bound to fail at everything other than creating many problems for a lot of people (like PKK terrorism) and causing several other wars in the region.

Iraq's borders must not change and the country must remain as a single-entity, western-oriented nation. If you split it, Turkey, Iran, Iraq itself and possibly the other Arabs and Israel will get involved and we're going to end up with such a big mess that it'll take centuries to clean up. I hope the powers that be aren't that stupid (or selfish).

Originally Posted by Lunatik

Kurds in Iraq get weapons from Bulgaria

Baghdad officials worry after 3 planeloads of arms arrive in north of country.

Kurdish officials this fall took delivery of three planeloads of small arms and ammunition imported from Bulgaria, three U.S. military officials said, an acquisition that occurred outside the weapons procurement procedures of Iraq's central government.

The large quantity of weapons and the timing of the shipment alarmed U.S. officials, who have grown concerned about the prospect of an armed confrontation between Iraqi Kurds and the government at a time when the Kurds are attempting to expand their control over parts of northern Iraq.
The weapons arrived in the northern city of Sulaymaniyah in September on three C-130 cargo planes, according to the three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Kurdish officials declined to answer questions about the shipments but released the following statement: "The Kurdistan Regional Government continues to be on the forefront of the war on terrorism in Iraq. With that continued threat, nothing in the constitution prevents the KRG from obtaining defense materials for its regional defense."

Oil-rich area
Iraq's ethnic Kurds maintain an autonomous region that comprises three of the country's 18 provinces. In recent months, the Shiite-led central government in Baghdad, which includes some Kurds in prominent positions, has accused Kurdish leaders of attempting to expand their territory by deploying their militia, known as pesh merga, to areas south of the autonomous region. Among other things, the Kurds and Iraq's government are at odds over control of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which lies outside the autonomous region, and over how Iraq's oil revenue ought to be distributed.

The Kurds of northern Iraq have run their affairs with increasing autonomy since 1991, when U.S. and British forces began enforcing a no-fly zone in northern Iraq to protect the region from President Saddam Hussein's military. The U.S.-led invasion in 2003 sparked concern that Iraqi Kurds would seek independence, but the Kurds have insisted that they wish to remain part of a federal Iraq.

Neighboring countries with large Kurdish minorities, including Turkey and Iran, have said they would oppose the emergence of an independent Kurdistan, as the autonomous region is known.

Iraq's interior minister, Jawad al-Bolani, said in an interview that central government officials did not authorize the purchase of weapons from Bulgaria. He said such an acquisition would constitute a "violation" of Iraqi law because only the Ministries of Interior and Defense are authorized to import weapons.

Experts on Iraq's constitution said the document does not clearly say whether provincial officials have the authority to import weapons. However, Iraqi and U.S. officials said the Ministries of Interior and Defense are the only entities authorized to import weapons. The Defense Ministry provides weapons to the Iraqi army, and the Interior Ministry procures arms for the country's police forces.

The Iraqi government has acquired the vast majority of its weapons through the Foreign Military Sales program, a U.S.-run procurement system, Brig. Gen. Charles D. Luckey, who assists the Iraqi government with weapons purchases, said Saturday. He said he knew of no instances in which provincial authorities had independently purchased weapons from abroad.

With thousands of American military officials involved in the training of Iraq's security forces, there is little the U.S. government does not know about weapons that are legally imported to Iraq. The shipments from Bulgaria in September caught the American military off guard, the three officials said. They first learned of the shipments from a source in Bulgaria, the officials said.

The three said they did not know whether U.S. officials had confronted Kurdish leaders about the shipments or alerted Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.

"Yes, the Kurds have this autonomous region and they're authorized to keep the pesh," one of the officials said, referring to the militia. "But arming themselves and bringing in weapons stealthily like that -- if I were the Iraqi government, I'd be pretty concerned."

While violence in Iraq has decreased markedly in recent months, political tension is rising as Iraqi leaders gear up for provincial and national elections scheduled to take place next year, and as they prepare for an era in which the U.S. military will have a smaller presence there.

Of the primary fault lines -- which include tension between Sunnis and Shiites and rivalry among Shiite political parties -- the rift between Kurds and the Arab-dominated Iraqi government has become a top concern in recent months. Senior government officials have engaged in a war of words, and Iraqi army and pesh merga units have come close to clashing.
"You could easily have a huge eruption of violence in the north," said Kenneth B. Katzman, a Middle East specialist at the Congressional Research Service in Washington. "Nothing having to do with the Kurds is resolved."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27867443/page/1/



As the article mentions, ALL of Iraq's neighbors (including Iran and NATO-member Turkey) and Iraq itself strictly oppose an independent Kurdistan. This land locked state is doomed, as it is bound to fail at everything other than creating many problems for a lot of people (like PKK terrorism) and causing several other wars in the region.

Iraq's borders must not change and the country must remain as a single-entity, western-oriented nation. If you split it, Turkey, Iran, Iraq itself and possibly the other Arabs and Israel will get involved and we're going to end up with such a big mess that it'll take centuries to clean up. I hope the powers that be aren't that stupid (or selfish).

I have a great sympathy and empathy for the Kurdish people who have been getting the raw end of the whip for centuries now. The Kurds along with other groups such as the Armenians deserve to have their own country. All the Kurds have ever learned from living in the same country with Sunni and Shiites is they become the third class citizens of the country. Saddam Hussein wanted to murder the Kurdish population and he had lots of help from both of the other groups in the country. If the Kurds need to arm themselves better, obviously for their own protection, then who are we in the west to say they shouldn't be doing it.

If I understand things properly the Kurds have some great oil wealth which is something they can use to build an infra-structure. I have no idea what if any kinds of crops grow there but surely they can buy food with oil money. The idea of Kurdistan is not a problem. To many people it is the solution to a problem. The Kurds have a wonderful rich culture thousands of years old and may I remind the reader that the great Saladin who re-took Jerusalem during the crusades and became very good friends with Richard the Lion Hearted was a Kurd.

The idea of a free Kurdistan would be right only if we were living in a utopic world where people didn't bear thousands of years long grudges or resources weren't scarce or everyone was so nice to each other. The reality is far from that. Kurdistan is a land-locked country and Kurds have problems with every single nation around them; Arabs, Turks and Persians. Furthermore, they overtly support terrorists and promote terrorism within the borders of the said nations. Look up PKK, KONGRE-GEL and PEJAK and enlighten yourself.

All the nations that truly deserve a country of their own, already have a country of their own. The harsh but true fact of history is that no one will build you a country unless you're a banana or oil republic, you have to earn it yourself with tears, sweat and blood. And especially not a land-locked one smack in the middle of 3 powerhouses who are against such an independence.

It's not going to happen, and if it does, a lot of blood will be spilled. Mostly Kurdish.

Originally Posted by Lunatik

The idea of a free Kurdistan would be right only if we were living in a utopic world where people didn't bear thousands of years long grudges or resources weren't scarce or everyone was so nice to each other. The reality is far from that. Kurdistan is a land-locked country and Kurds have problems with every single nation around them; Arabs, Turks and Persians. Furthermore, they overtly support terrorists and promote terrorism within the borders of the said nations. Look up PKK, KONGRE-GEL and PEJAK and enlighten yourself.

All the nations that truly deserve a country of their own, already have a country of their own. The harsh but true fact of history is that no one will build you a country unless you're a banana or oil republic, you have to earn it yourself with tears, sweat and blood. And especially not a land-locked one smack in the middle of 3 powerhouses who are against such an independence.

It's not going to happen, and if it does, a lot of blood will be spilled. Mostly Kurdish.

I should get some interesting feedback for my next 2 sentences. There is an old saying. One person's terrorist is usually another person's freedom fighter.

The Kurds are the most toughest people in the area. Saddam did all he could with his conventional army to destroy the Kurds. He even got as low as using chemical weapons on their women and children (Halabja bombing in 1988). At the end the Kurds came out more powerful then ever and Saddam went to the gallows. The Kurds are also some of the most democracy loving people in the whole region next to Israel . The Arabs, Iranian and the Turds..ohh..excuse me Turks have always tried to assimilate the Kurdish people in to their own culture and beliefs, due to their lack of tolerance to other people and cultures. They all made pacts between themselves to make the Kurds suffer and die out. Happy to report that the democracy loving Kurds are now stronger than ever with the support of the western world. They have more guns and money than ever. This is the beginning of a great start for spreading democracy in the middle east starting with the creation of the Kurdish Stat and if anyone thinks they can get in their way. Well, I will just repeat what the Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said: “ we beat and survived the Iraqi army at our weakest, when Iraq had the fourth largest army in the world, we can certainly beat the rest now”.

I put the map in as I wanted to be clear about the area we're talking about. I want to know why it is that the Kurds regard themselves as being oppressed for so long? Why have they not been able to actually focus themselves as a nation & drive themselves forward for their own country. I am not as well informed as I should, more background reading called for now..

My thought is that there is little chance for a Kurdish homeland now, as the countries around them aren't just going to let parts of their country go. But if it is going to start anywhere, it will start with Kurdish Iraq, seceding from Iraq, which could start the whole avalanche effect. They have oil = income, they certainly seem to have the forces (peshmurga) the big question is do they have the will?

It would be interesting to know what weapons they purchased.

Were they only small arms and explosives? I dont know if the Kurds can afford anything threatening to the US army, and even if they could i doubt they could use them proparly.

Ohh....the Kurdish will is increasable man. Every Kurd I know will easily risk his/her life for a chance of the creation of Kurdistan. As you cleverly pointed out, one of the biggest obstacles of Kurdistan is the geography of its surrounding. It all goes back to WWI, after the Ottoman empire feel, the Allied powers carved countries out of the territories of the Ottoman. As in the treaty of Lausanne they deliberately divided the Kurdistan among the newly carved borders of Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria to make sure they will always be minorities in their own land. These new countries since then have been trying to assimilate the Kurds in to their own people by force and kill the Kurdish identity. Like the Arabs/Saddam bombing the Kurdish city of Halabja with Chemical weapons and the ban of the Kurdish language and culture in Turkey. The funny this is that most of these countries grew to be enemies of the allies of WWI and the Kurds became allies of Democracy and the free world.

The Kurds are allies of the US, their weapons are not intended for US troops.. In Iraq when the troop's R &R is not long enough to come back to the states. They go to Kurdistan of Iraq to enjoy them selfs.

Originally Posted by vegass

Ohh....the Kurdish will is increasable man. Every Kurd I know will easily risk his/her life for a chance of the creation of Kurdistan. As you cleverly pointed out, one of the biggest obstacles of Kurdistan is the geography of its surrounding. It all goes back to WWI, after the Ottoman empire feel, the Allied powers carved countries out of the territories of the Ottoman. As in the treaty of Lausanne they deliberately divided the Kurdistan among the newly carved borders of Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria to make sure they will always be minorities in their own land. These new countries since then have been trying to assimilate the Kurds in to their own people by force and kill the Kurdish identity. Like the Arabs/Saddam bombing the Kurdish city of Halabja with Chemical weapons and the ban of the Kurdish language and culture in Turkey. The funny this is that most of these countries grew to be enemies of the allies of WWI and the Kurds became allies of Democracy and the free world.

Vegass, you've obviously got some inside knowledge so please can you help me understand why there should be an independent Kurdistan? I can understand the history, but from the few articles I've read there doesn't seem to be a unified 'raison d'etre', merely that the borders were drawn up on straight lines and that the Kurds should be independent?

That said I'm also curious about the Turkish antipathy to an independent Kurdistan (PKK aside) as a bulwark against aggressors from the south would make sense to me? Can you enlighten?