More reasns to redeploy specifically or primarily to KURDISTAN

Submitted by Frans Groenendijk (Netherlands), Jul 25, 2007 at 20:11

Ron Thompson summed up some good arguments. I would like to add two more.

8. This is to some extend my answer to Robert Arbetman's question. If the coalition forces withdraw from the cities or even -following Thompson's suggestion- are moved to Kurdistan almost entirely there is chance that the Sunni-Shia vilence will worsen. When it is (almost) impossible to put the blame on the coalition forces/US there will be more pressure on the main players in Sunni- and Shia-land.

This can have two effects: these players (Iran, Egypt, Saudi-arabia, islamic "spiritual" leaders) at last take their responsibility and use their power to urge the fighting parties inside Iraq to stop hostilities OR they will not.

The first possibility is the most preferable but maybe not the most likely outcome. If these players can no longer avoid their responsibility by putting all blame on the US/UK/West but the violence continues or intensifies their authority will go (further) down. Something I would not mourn.

You can say this would imply sitting on your hands but if this is what sitting on your hand means than the west in sitting on its hands concerning a lot of horrible situations. (North Korea, Zimbabwe, beheadings of boeddhists in Thailand, female infanticide or abortion specific to female foetuses to name a few...)

9. I think Wikipedia is right that in some way "Kurds "hold their Islam lightly". Allthough Kurdistan knows pre-medevial backwardedness too, as a whole it is much more secular. One of the few peoples in the middle-east openly expressing sympathy for Israel.

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