313 The Flotilla: Turkey changed sides because Israel created a quasi-independent Kurdistan in Iraq

The Flotilla: Turkey changed sides because Israel created a quasi-independent Kurdistan in Iraq

(1) Israeli commandos gun down 19 peace activists in Flotilla to Gaza
(2) Israeli commandos kill 19 in attack on flotilla trying to break Gaza blockade
(3) Israel's attack shows the Madness born of unbridled Arrogance - Alan Sabrosky
(4) Abbas: Israel has committed a massacre on the Gaza flotilla
(5) The new-found independence of Turkey made the difference - Israel Shamir
(6) We created a Kurdish state within Iraq - Avi Dichter, former Israeli Minister
(7) US-Israeli support for quasi-independence of Iraqi Kurdistan prompts Mid-East alignment - Thierry Meyssan
(8) Kurdish Iraq is prospering, and is notably pro-Israeli - Max Boot

(1) Israeli commandos gun down 19 peace activists in Flotilla to Gaza

From: Max <Max@mailstar.net> Date: 01.06.2010 06:00 PM

Israeli commandos gun down 19 peace activists in raid on Gaza ships with 28 Britons on board

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE
Last updated at 10:40 PM on 31st May 2010

{visit the link to see photos}

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1282802/Israeli-forces-kill-19-people-carrying-aid-ship-Gaza.html

The Foreign Secretary today 'deplored' the loss of life during the interception of a flotilla of ships carrying aid to Gaza.

Up to 19 people were killed after Israeli commandos boarded ships carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid en route from Cyprus.

Another 26 people are being treated in two Israeli hospitals for injuries sustained in the assault.

Details of what happened remain sketchy after Israel imposed a news blackout, preventing activists on board the ships from contacting the outside world.

But it believed troops were attacked with knives and metal pipes as they attempted to board one of the ships from a helicopter.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that shooting started when one of the civilians made a grab for a soldier’s gun.

He says hundreds of people on board the ship beat, clubbed and stabbed soldiers, and there was a report of gunfire. He says that forced soldiers to attack.

The soldiers had allegedly wanted to check the cargo on the ship to ensure it contained no weapons.

Netanyahu claims this was done successfully with the first five ships, but the sixth did not cooperate.

The Israeli army confirmed 10 deaths but it's believed there could be as many as nine more victims.

Amid conflicting claims over how the violence started, the Israeli Defence Force released video which it claimed showed peace activists attacking soldiers as they landed on one of the ships from a helicopter.

The shooting was met with international condemnation, led by U.S. president Barack Obama who urged Netanyahu to get 'all the facts' about the raid.

After Netanyahu cancelled planned White House talks set for tomorrow, Mr Obama expressed 'deep regret at the loss of life in today's incident, and concern for the wounded.'

There were claims nine of the victims were from Turkey, prompting the country to recall its ambassador and cancel joint military operations with Israel.

Palestinian rights group Friends of Al-Aqsa said that 28 British citizens were assisting in the breaking of the blockade, including its chairman Ismail Patel.

William Hague said the British embassy was in 'urgent contact' with the Israeli government, asking for more information.

He said: 'I deplore the loss of life during the interception of the Gaza flotilla. Our embassy is in urgent contact with the Israeli government.

'We are asking for more information and urgent access to any UK nationals involved.

'We have consistently advised against attempting to access Gaza in this way because of the risks involved. But at the same time, there is a clear need for Israel to act with restraint and in line with international obligations.

'It would be important to establish the facts about this incident and especially whether enough was done to prevent death and injuries.

'This news underlines the need to lift the restrictions on access to Gaza in line with UNSCR (UN Security Council Resolution) 1860.'

Mr Hague continued: 'The closure (of access to Gaza) is unacceptable and counter-productive. There can be no better response from the international community to this tragedy than to achieve urgently a durable resolution to the Gaza crisis.

'I call on the Government of Israel to open the crossings to allow unfettered access for aid to Gaza, and address the serious concerns about the deterioration in the humanitarian and economic situation and about the effect on a generation of young Palestinians.'

Mr Hague's criticism of the killings comes after several groups condemned the action taken by the Israelis.

Thousands of anti-Israel protesters descended outside the west London embassy today to voice their anger against the shootings.

Protestors made their way from Downing Street to the Israeli embassy on High Street Kensington, bearing banners with the slogans 'Brits for Palestine' and 'End the siege in Gaza'.

A British woman was today awaiting news of her partner who was aboard one of the Gaza aid ships.

Peter Venner, 63, from Ryde, Isle of Wight, was on the Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara, when it was boarded overnight en route from Cyprus to Gaza.

His partner of 14 years, Rachel Bridgeland, 51, from Bembridge on the island, said she has not heard from him.

'I heard from him just after he set off but I have not heard from him since,' she said.

'His mobile phone just has a message on it he left in Cyprus saying contact was not possible.

'I'm very concerned and waiting by the phone but assuming he's not dead he will be imprisoned by the Israelis and they won't let him make contact.'

Scroll to the bottom for the Israeli Defence Force video

Ms Bridgeland explained it was 'nonsense' that those aboard the ships had fought back resulting in the deaths of up to 15 people.

'The people in the flotilla were concerned about this and people were checked because they knew the Israelis would attack.

RAID TIMELINE

Thursday 20th May

Passengers and crew on the lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, meet in the Turkish city of Istanbul. The passenger ship's departure is delayed due to technical problems. The other five ships and boats in the flotilla travel toward the Cyprus rendezvous from elsewhere in the Mediterranean

Saturday 30th May

Barred from docking in the Greek Cypriot port of Limassol, the flotilla groups in international waters to the south of the island. VIPs, such as various members of the European Parliament, are shuttled to the flotilla. 

22.41pm

The flotilla, which is still in international waters, is approached by Israeli Defence Force (IDF) ships. The IDF later releases video footage which appearing to show them warning the Mavi Marmara not to continue.  The protestors' captain appears to reply: "Negative.  Negative. Our destination is Gaza".

Sunday 31st May.  Approximately 1am

Having apparently ignored the Israeli's repeated demands dock in Israel's port of Ashdod, the protestors' flotilla sends an "okay signal" message back to base.

Approximately 3.30am

The IDF forces approach the Mavi Marmara by helicopter and speedboat.  While people on board the boat insist that they offered no violence, infra-red video released by the IDF contradicts this. 

The video shows the first Israeli commando abseiling onto the Mavi Marmara's deck.  People are seen grabbing the end of the special forces soldier's abseil rope and tugging it violently.  The soldier falls from the abseil rope.  The IDF caption reads: 'the first soldier is injured and is thrown to the lower deck.'

Amid chaos on board the Mavi Marmara, one passenger can be seen running with a large pole.  Another runs with what the video caption describe as 'a large metal object'.  Then the video shows what it claims is 'tens of rioters hit an IDF soldier and try to kidnap him.'

The video clearly shows someone on one of the ship's lower decks throwing what seems to be a stun grenade towards the IDF soldiers.  It explodes in the air. 

Later another grenade is shown being thrown from the lower deck. The caption describes it as a fire-bomb.  Figures are seen scrambling for cover and diving to the floor when it lands.

An al-Jazeera reporter on board the Mavi Marmara says that the passengers offered no resistance.  He said that the Israeli soldiers continued to fire at the ship after passengers waved white flags.

After daybreak

The ships are towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod, from where the passengers will be deported. 
The Israelis show video footage of metal poles, catapults and stashes of ball bearings which it says were used by the passengers to attack their soldiers.

'They never wanted to take on the Israeli military, they wanted to deliver concrete to Gaza to build schools.'...

(2) Israeli commandos kill 19 in attack on flotilla trying to break Gaza blockade

John Lyons, Middle East correspondent    The Australian    June 01, 2010  12:00AM   

ISRAELI commandos yesterday stormed in international waters a flotilla attempting to break the Gaza Strip blockade, killing at least 19 activists, most of them Turks.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/israeli-commandos-kill-19-in-attack-on-flotilla-trying-to-break-gaza-blockade/story-e6frg6n6-1225873783193

The bloody ending to the mission to deliver supplies on six boats to the besieged Palestinian enclave plunged Israel into a diplomatic crisis, forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call off a White House meeting with US President Barack Obama.

As Turkey recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv, Israeli authorities went on alert last night in anticipation of an outbreak of unrest. Jerusalem's Old City was locked down and Gaza was sealed off from the media.

Police were also on alert in northern Israel after it was reported an Islamic leader from that part of the country was one of those killed on the flotilla.

The 36 wounded activists and four wounded troops were flown by Israeli helicopters from the boats to hospitals around Israel, many to the Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.

Australian journalists Paul McGeough and Kate Geraghty, who were filing for the Fairfax press from the flotilla, were last night being held in an Israeli detention centre. They were likely to be deported.

Scores of naval commandos stormed the six boats at about 5am (12pm AEDT), 62km out at sea, after warning them they were approaching an area of hostilities that was under a naval blockade.

Israel pointed the finger of blame at the activists, accusing them of initiating the bloodshed when they attacked a naval boarding force with live fire, knives and clubs on one of the six ships.

Israel's military top brass said the violence had been limited to the Turkish passenger boat, the Mavi Marmara, with navy chief Admiral Eliezer Marom saying his troops "had acted with extreme restraint" in a very dangerous situation. He said the five other boats co-operated peacefully.

A spokesman for Mr Netanyahu, Mark Regev, also blamed the activists.

"They initiated the violence," he said. "They wanted violence, they wanted a headline, they wanted their time on CNN.

"We made every possible effort to avoid this incident. The servicemen were given instructions that it was to be a police operation and to use maximum restraint.

"Unfortunately, they were attacked with deadly force by the people on the boats, with iron bars, knives and live fire.

"I can confirm that was the case where weapons were taken forcibly from our servicemen and used against them."

Israel radio broadcast the message that it said was sent by the Israeli navy to the Turkish ship leading the convoy: "You are approaching an area of hostilities, which is under a naval blockade. Gaza coastal area and Gaza Harbour are closed to maritime traffic.

"The Israeli government supports delivery of humanitarian supplies to the civilian population in Gaza Strip and invites you to enter Ashdod port. Delivery of supplies will be through the formal land crossing to Gaza and under your observation, after which you can return to your home ports."

They said the reply from the ship was: "Negative, negative. Our destination is Gaza."

There were an estimated 700 people people on the boats - of the original nine that left Cyprus on Sunday three pulled out because of mechanical problems.

They were taking 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid - including medical supplies - to Gaza.

Israel has had a blockade on the Gaza Strip since Hamas took power three years ago.

Before the confrontation Israel had said it was prepared to deliver the cargo, but organisers said this was not possible as it contained many products that Israel had banned. Israel has also sealed off all border crossings it shares with Gaza, while Egypt sealed off its southern border with the Hamas-controlled territory.

The confrontation sent already-poor relations between Israel and Turkey into a new crisis as Ankara warned Israel of "irreparable consequences" to bilateral ties. Turkey last night summoned the Israeli ambassador to Ankara to lodge a formal protest and a crowd tried to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. Israel immediately closed Gaza to journalists.

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas labelled the assault a "massacre" and declared three days of mourning.

Additional reporting: agencies

(3) Israel's attack shows the Madness born of unbridled Arrogance - Alan Sabrosky

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/05/31/dr-alan-sabrosky-the-madness-of-arrogance-israels-attack-on-the-gaza-aid-flotilla/

THE MADNESS OF ARROGANCE: ISRAEL'S ATTACK ON THE GAZA AID FLOTILLA

By Dr. Alan Sabrosky STAFF WRITER/Editor

May 31, 2010

Israel's attack on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla on America's Memorial Day was all too predictable, although the form it took surprised even me. And it confirms the old proverb that "Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad," for the attack was the kind of madness only unbridled arrogance can assume.

It wasn't just that foreigners as well as Palestinians, flying flags other than that of Palestine, were attacked. Israel has a long history of doing such things, especially to the UN. But except for the USS Liberty incident in 1967, it has generally done that on inland sites - Gaza, the West Bank, the Lebanon - where it can largely block news and visual evidence, and control the spin it puts on events, counting on its friends in the US and other mainstream media to say little or nothing to contradict them.

The Attack Reprised

Not this time. An attack on the open seas, in acknowledged international waters, against unarmed ships carrying humanitarian aid with passengers and crews from many countries - especially a direct attack against a Turkish ship - is a different matter, and potentially an explosive one. The number of shipboard casualties indicates that once fighting started, the Israeli commandos simply sprayed automatic weapons fire into the people around them - another of their long-standing habits.

And technology is their enemy here, just as it became in an earlier day the enemy of communist regimes in the former Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries. Too many images and videos were taken, and some sent, and too many witnesses reported what was happening, before the Israelis were able to suppress communications from their victims.

Bad for their victims, but also potentially very bad for Israel, and the initial Israeli public-relations damage control efforts show that they are at least dimly aware of that fact. Trying to cast the attack in international waters as an exercise in self-defense would be ludicrous in the best or worst of circumstances - has anyone ever seen wheelchairs used as offensive weaponry?

And for the Israeli spokeswoman to try to spin an assault by warships and armed commandos as defense against a "lynch" (I guess she was trying to push an American "hot button" for Obama - someone should tell her it is "lynching" or "lynch mob") would have embarrassed even her public relations soulmate, Dr. Josef Goebbels. But desperate do what desperation dictates, I suppose, although this time they may well have gone way too far.

A Judging, Long Overdue

And that is what the initial responses appear to affirm. All of the major US and many other media outlets are carrying this story, and even with the slant from many Jewish correspondents based in Jerusalem or Ashdod, the bloody particulars are slowly coming through to at least a general American audience for the first time:

  1.  The unarmed ships with unarmed passengers were trying to ferry humanitarian and reconstruction aid to ravaged and embattled Gaza.

  2.  Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, probably if not certainly in violation of international law, supported largely by US vetoes in the UN Security Council.

  3.  Israeli warships and commandos intercepted and attacked the aid flotilla in international waters -which is an act of war, piracy or state terrorism, depending on one's view of the details.

  4.  Under attack, some of the passengers tried to defend themselves, scores were killed or wounded, and some Israeli commandos were also wounded - doubtless a surprise to them, but then their usual run of victims may have made them a bit too cocky.

  5.  Many governments and publics around the world - not only in Arab capitals - are openly outraged, and the discussion forums on US news websites carrying the story suggest that much the same is happening at a public level in this country.

  6.  But for Israel, this is just another "we are the misunderstood victim" incident in a long, sordid and utterly unbelievable litany of such things - except that this time, they may not get away with it.

Seizing the Moment

This is a time for those interested in justice for Palestine to seize the moment and act, building on the promise engendered but not fulfilled after the submission of the Goldstone Report to the HRC.

I would like to think that President Obama would take a stand, and perhaps he will, but if he does it will be with words and not with deeds. Neither the Congress nor Rahm Emanuel would let him do much more, whatever his predisposition - and who knows, he may believe the "lynch" metaphor, or pretend to do so.

Americans shouldn't bother with letters or emails to US Senators or Representatives, or Obama; AIPAC will be there ahead of you with more letters and money than you can generate. Go instead directly to the local offices of US Senators and Representatives, stay until you speak personally to the senior person there, and make your case as forcefully as you can. Make sure as many people hear you as possible - but be polite, and leave your signs at home.

For the world community, now is the time and this is the incident to drive home the UN "Uniting for Peace" Resolution, in both the Security Council and the General Assembly as needed. The nationalities of the victims will at least neutralize many European countries that might have opposed it before. Sanctions, embargoes, even the suspension or expulsion of Israel from the UN itself, do as much as quickly and as forcefully as possible. Press the BDS campaign everywhere hard.

And for the US armed forces, on this Memorial Day, it would be well to reflect on the meaning of duty and service to country and people. Oaths of allegiance, obedience and loyalty are important to professionals in the armed forces, in or out of uniform. They were to me when I was in the Marines, and later as a civilian at West Point and the Army War College. I'm sure serving professionals today are no different.

But the elected and appointed civilians overseeing the armed services have also taken their own oaths, and many have violated them by serving the interests of Israel rather than the US itself, and especially by spending American lives and treasure furthering Israeli interests rather than safeguarding American ones. This, to me, is clearly treason, and utterly negates any loyalty anyone else owes to them.

Remember that the cornerstone of our oaths is not to obedience, but to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Think about it on this Memorial Day.  __

*Alan Sabrosky (Ph.D, University of Michigan) is a ten-year US Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the US Army War College. He can be contacted at docbrosk@comcast.net

(4) Abbas: Israel has committed a massacre on the Gaza flotilla

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-israel-has-committed-a-massacre-on-the-gaza-flotilla-1.293186

Published 09:35 31.05.10

Latest update 11:00 31.05.10

Turkey says Israel's attack on Gaza aid convoy violated international law, summons Israeli ambassador over attack which killed at least 10 left-wing activists.

By Reuters and Haaretz Service

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described as a "massacre" the killing of at least 10 activists on Gaza-bound aid ships boarded by Israeli military forces on Monday.

"What Israel has committed on board the Freedom Flotilla was a massacre," Abbas was quoted as saying by the official Wafa news agency.

Turkey also condemned Israel's actions on Monday, denouncing them a "unacceptable" and summoning Israel's ambassador to discuss the incident - bringing already tense relations between the countries to new heights.

The ministry said that Israel had violated International law and must now carry the consequences.

"[The interception on the convoy] is unacceptable ... Israel will have to endure the consequences of this behavior," it said in a statement.

Murat Mercan, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, said: "I was expecting an intervention. I was not expecting bloodshed, the use of arms and bullets."

"Israel is engaged in activity that will extremely hurt its image," he said.

Following the events, the Turkish government called emergency meetings, Channel 10 reported.

The Arab League said mid-Monday it would call an emergency meeting to dicuss the incident.

Meanwhile, France became the first European nation to respond to the early morning's events. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was "profoundly shocked".

Many of the activists aboard the protest ships were European nationals and analysts have predicted a harsh diplomatic response from the European Union and its member states.

(5) The new-found independence of Turkey made the difference - Israel Shamir

From: Israel Shamir <adam@israelshamir.net> Date: 29.05.2010 12:41 AM
Subject: [shamireaders] Godspeed to Gaza, by Israel Shamir

The Jewish-Zionist Lobby is losing its unique power, and is well on its way to being defeated.

Godspeed to Gaza

By Israel Shamir

[An updated Talk at Teramo University, Italy, May 2010]

http://www.israelshamir.net/English/Godspeed_to_Gaza.htm
http://www.rense.com/general91/gazz.htm

The Turks did it! The world as we know it has changed with the new-found independence of Turkey. Within one month, this erstwhile American semi-colony under the charismatic leadership of Recep Erdogan has made two strong moves that have brought it to the forefront of policy-making:

Together with Brazil, Turkey has arranged and signed the Tehran Declaration of a nuclear fuel swap deal with beleaguered Iran. This declaration derails the Israeli plans of sanctioning Iran to death prior to bombing it. The sanctions plan was already on its way to the Security Council; allegedly Russia and China had been pressured to agree. At the last moment, like a deus ex machina -- like Divine intervention in the medieval theatre – these two new great powers of Turkey and Brazil entered the stage and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. All the plotting of Israeli lobbyists in the US and Europe was wiped out in an instant. Indeed, as the Muslims say: they plot, but Allah plots better.

Israel received the news of the Turkey-Brazil-Iran agreement as a heavy blow. “We were defeated by the crafty Turks and Iranians,” read the headlines of Israeli newspapers. Not so fast. The US State Department had tried to minimize the damage, effectively asking: “Who cares what these lowlifes agree about? If we have decided to bomb somebody, bomb we shall. We shall never allow facts to confuse us.” Thomas Friedman in the NYT was disappointed why “a Holocaust-denying thug” is allowed to live. However, world policy-making has changed, and decisions are not made exclusively in Washington, London or Moscow any more. Mid-size countries – regional powers – are back in vogue, and it is much better for all of us.

Russia’s position remains somewhat doubtful. There are persistent rumours that Russia had agreed to support the sanctions despite the Tehran swap deal declaration, and these rumours had caused President Ahmadinejad to issue a strong warning. “We do not know whether Russia is a friend or a foe”, he said. ‘Surely a friend’, replied the Russian foreign minister Mr Lavrov, adding that Russia is well pleased with the Declaration and wishes it to succeed. Nothing is final in our world, but meanwhile it seems that Turkey and Brazil, Erdogan and Lulu, succeeded in killing the Israeli-American aggression plan.

After derailing the sanctions against Iran, the indomitable Turk sent his vessels to relieve the siege of Gaza. A whole flotilla of small and medium boats is on its way to Gaza now, and among them, a large boat from Turkey, accompanied by a boat bought and equipped by another great friend of Palestine, Mahathir Mohammad of Malaysia.

Free Gaza did sail boats to Gaza over the past two years with differing results; they had some important persons aboard, notably our friend, the wonderful Cynthia McKinney, but this is the first time that the steering of this freedom regatta has passed from the hands of nice European volunteers to the locals, to the peoples of the region. This is a vast change, and a change that means a lot. While the Palestinian cause was only the cause celebré of Europeans with conscience, it was containable. Now, when it has become the concern of the local region, the countdown for the freak Zionist mini-Empire has begun.  ...

(6) We created a Kurdish state within Iraq - Avi Dichter, former Israeli Minister

From: Sami Joseph <sajoseph2005@yahoo.com> Date: 28.05.2010 04:53 PM
Subject: [altahrir] Israel: We Destroyed Iraq...

Israel: We Destroyed Iraq.. Iraq must Stay Divided and Isolated… The Oil of Northern Iraq will Flow into Israel!

Jouhaina Portal News, Syria

Page last updated on Monday24 th of May11 2010 :43: 38AM

http://www.jpnews-sy.com/en/news.php?id=919

Avi Dichter, the Israeli Internal Security Minister, said in a lecture at the ‘Israeli National Security Research Center’ “about the Israeli role in destroying Iraq after it was occupied in 2003 “we achieved in Iraq more than we expected and plan!” Dichter confirmed that keeping Iraq weak and isolated is an Israeli national interest.

“Weakening and isolating Iraq is no less important than weakening and isolating Egypt,” he said. "Weakening and isolating Egypt done by diplomatic methods while everything is done to do achieve a complete and comprehensive isolation to Iraq”, Dachter added.

“Iraq has vanished as a military force and as a united country. Our strategic option is to keep it divided,” he added.

“Our strategic goal is not to allow this country (Iraq) to take its regional and Arabic role back. Iraq must stay divided and isolated from its regional environment” he said.

About the role of the Kurdish parties in facilitating occupying Iraq Dichter said “the top goal for Israel is to support and provide the Kurds with weapons and training and to make them our partners in security in order to establish a Kurdish independent state in the northern part of Iraq where it can control Kirkuk’s and Kurdistan’s oil,” he added.

“The Kurdish leadership guaranteed to put the oil pipeline from Kirkuk to IBC line through Jordan. We did primary negotiations with Jordan and we reached an agreement with the Kurdish leadership in this regard. If Jordan withdrew his promises we have the substitute: Turkey. We finished putting the plans and studies to establish pipelines for water and oil with Turkey and from Turkey into Israel,” he added.

The full transcript of the lecture is below:

Nobody can ignore what we had achieved on this field (Iraq). What was achieved was beyond what we had planned. We have to recall back our primary goals in Iraq since we started interfering in it at the beginning of the seventies of the last century. Our top goal was supporting the Kurds getting benefit from their feeling that they are persecuted ethnicity who have the right to self determination and to enjoy freedom as all other peoples.

 At first our colleagues in Israel- who planned for (destroying) Iraq as uri Librani the previous advisor of the ex-prime minister and our ambassador to Turkey and Ethiopia and Iran- defined the core plan for the Israelis to support the Kurds. Our (Israeli) support to the Kurds was humble at the beginning. It was limited to a political support, mentioning the Kurds issue in the international meetings and conferences. We provided the Kurds also with money, but this was limited.

In 1972 this support had taken a security dimensions: providing the Kurds with weapons through Turkey and Iran and receiving Kurdish groups and gorillas for training in Israel and in Turkey and Iran.

After the Kurdish “resistance” fall apart as a result of the agreement with Iran, the Kurdish leadership went to Turkey, Syria and Israel. Israel for morale reasons had to stay beside the Kurds and support them till they got their national aim in achieving the self-rule in the first stage and the full state independent later on.

I won’t talk long but I have to say that now in Iraq there’s an independent Kurdish state. This state has people, land, authority, army, economic, oil. This state aims not to limit itself to Kurdistan only but to annex the northern of Iraq also; Kirkuk first, then al-Musel and may be SalahEddin city in addition to Jlolaa and Khankin.

The Kurds cant’ imagine what had achieved thanks to our support.

Iraq which was in our strategic view the most dangerous challenge after it became a very huge military force. Suddenly Iraq falls apart as a military force and as a country! Iraq, the country which was united, suddenly became divided geographically, and its people is divided, it has now a civil war which led to the death of hundreds of thousands of the Iraqis!

If we watch Iraq since 2003 we would find ourselves in front of more than one perspective:

Iraq is now divided into three areas in spite of the existence of the central government.

(7) US-Israeli support for quasi-independence of Iraqi Kurdistan prompts Mid-East alignment - Thierry Meyssan

From: chris lenczner <chrispaul@netpci.com> Date: 18.05.2010 09:47 PM

Strategy shift in the Middle East by Thierry Meyssan*

http://www.voltairenet.org/article165434.html

The failure to reshape the Greater Middle East has left the field open to a new alliance, the Tehran-Damascus-Ankara triangle. Since nature is allergic to vacuums, Moscow is filling the space left vacant by Washington. The wind has changed and it's blowing strong. In a matter of a few months, the entire regional balance of power has tipped.

The new formula for the Middle East: the Turkey-Iran-Syria triangle (L to R, Presidents Gül, Ahmadinejad and Assad).

In recent months the equilibrium of the Middle East has undergone a complete shift. First of all, the capabilities and positions of a number of players have changed.

The Israeli armed forces, who had gone from one victory to another for decades, are no longer able to control the ground. During their offensive against Lebanon (2006) and against Gaza (2008), they displayed an increase of destructive power, but showed they are not longer capable of achieving their goals, in this case the destruction of Hezbollah and Hamas. In addition, their arsenal, equipped as required by the United States, no longer guarantees their domination. Their tanks have become vulnerable to Russian RPG, when they used to constitute the major component of their blitzkrieg. Their navy is threatened by the land-sea missiles supplied to Hezbollah by China, which are now equipped with an anti-jamming system that they lacked in 2006. Finally, their air dominance will not resist for long to the proliferation of Russian S-300, currently being shipped to the region.

The quasi-independence of Iraqi Kurdistan engineered by the United States, the economic development of this quasi-state under Israeli control plus Washington's blatant support of the separatist Kurds under the PKK umbrella, compelled the Turkish military to a complete turnaround. The Atlantic Alliance is no longer a warrant for Turkish territorial integrity and Israel becomes an enemy. While Ankara is careful to placate Washington, the tone with Tel Aviv has continued to escalate since the altercation between Recip Erdogan and Shimon Peres at the Forum in Davos, and the diplomatic incident linked to the Turkish television series The Valley of the Wolves.

The Iraqi chaos and the creation of a quasi-state in Kurdistan have forced neighbouring states to work together to avert a spillover effect, especially since Washington has already attempted to destabilize them all to keep them out of the Iraqi game. Thus the United States and Israel covertly supported Kurdish separatists in Turkey (PKK), those in Iran (Pejak) and those in Syria. As a result, the Iran-Syria axis has been replaced by the Iran-Syria-Turkey triangle. This new alliance enjoys a historical legitimacy without parallel. Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has been the leader of the Shiites. After Paul Bremmer's destruction of the Iraqi Baath party, Syria stepped in as the undisputed leader of the secular camp. Finally, Turkey, heir to the Ottoman Caliphate, is the cradle of Sunni Islam. Taken together, these states cover nearly the entire field of Middle Eastern politics. This alliance has dropped the curtain on the Divide et Impera (divide and rule) policy, successfully applied by the colonial powers to dominate this vast region. In particular, it puts an end to the Fitna, that is to say the Islamic "civil war" between Sunnis and Shiites. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has already invited Iranian President Ahmadinejad to join him in a pilgrimage to Mecca, of which he is the custodian. As the heir of the Ottomans, Turkey embodies the historical legacy of Sunni Islam. In addition, the new triangle widens Ankara's horizons constantly clogged by the endless procrastinations of the European Union.

The "de-Baathisation" process of Iraq, i.e. the hunting season against the former executive officers of the country, has caused a mass exodus. In six years, more than one million Iraqis have been welcomed to Syria. Such Arab hospitality includes totally free admission to schools and universities as well as access to the overall health system. Initially, this vast immigration wave caused a serious economic crisis, but once digested, it has provided Syria with highly qualified executives and has injected a new dynamism.

The turmoil fomented by the United States in Yemen forced the Saudi royal family to support King Abdhallah's policy of appeasement towards Syria and Iran. Consequently, the Hariri Lebanese-Saudi clan was asked to reconcile with President Bashar al-Assad and to recognize the legitimacy of the armed Lebanese Resistance. Suddenly, the ambivalent results of the rigged 2009 parliamentary elections - where General Aoun and Hezbollah won by a majority of votes, but where a majority of seats was obtained by the coalition formed around the pro-American clan Hariri and the extreme Christian right - took on a different meaning, opening the way for a government of national unity. While the warlords like socialist Walid Jumblatt made a 180 ° turn in order to go with the tide.

However, this trend remains fragile since Washington may still have the possibility to destabilize the new troika. Be that as it may, several attempts by corrupt Syrian generals to overthrow Bashar al-Assad were foiled even before they could act. The multiple attacks orchestrated by the CIA in the non-Persian provinces of Iran failed to trigger separatist revolts. While the colour revolution, organized by the CIA and MI6 during the presidential election, was been drowned out by a human tidal wave. To the tens of thousands of protesters in the northern neighbourhoods of Tehran, the rest of the country responded with a massive demonstration of 5 million people. Finally, it appears that Washington is incapable of resorting again to Gladio to establish a military dictatorship in Turkey. On the one hand because the new generation of Turkish generals no longer buttressed to Kemalism and secondly because the AKP Muslim-Democratic is intent on dismantling Ergenekon (current version Turkish Gladio).

Washington and Tel Aviv could also fabricate fraudulent files to justify military action. Thus, since 2007, they have been alleging that Israel discovered and bombed a military nuclear research center in Syria and that Iran is developing a vast programe of a similar nature. More recently, the same powers have accused Syria of having introduced Scuds into Lebanon. However, these accusations do not stand up to analysis any more than those formulated by Secretary of State Colin Powell before the United Nations Security Council United Nations regarding Iraqi's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction. The numerous IAEA inspection teams that visited Iran only found evidence of civilian activities, and the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon have denied the presence of Scuds in the country.

Russian makes its entrance

The loss of U.S. influence is so palpable that General David Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Central Command, has set off alarm bells in Washington. In his view, the game played by the Israelis not only in Palestine, but especially in Iraq, has thwarted U.S. plans in the region. Moreover, the stagnation of the GIs situation in Iraq and Afghanistan has made them hostages to Turkey, Syria and Iran, the only ones able to pacify the rebellious populations. In a complete reversal of roles, the strategic ally of the Pentagon has become a burden, while its regional enemies are now its shields.

Noting the failure of U.S. plans to reshape U.S. Greater Middle East, Moscow has repositioned itself on the regional scene on the occasion of President Dmitry Medvedev's visits to Damascus and Ankara.

With regard to Israel, Russia reaffirmed that the political settlement of the conflict should be based on the relevant UN resolutions (including the inalienable right of return for Palestinians) and the principles of the Madrid conference (return of the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, in exchange for a peace treaty). Moreover, Dmitry Medvedev confirmed his country's preference for the two-state solution. Given the presence of one million ex-Soviets in Israel, Moscow wants to forestall a foreseeable exodus in case the Zionist regime should fall. In this context, he advocated for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, and met Khaled Mechaal, the political leader of the Palestinian resistance, notwithstanding Washington's stigmatisation of Hamas as a "terrorist" organisation. This represents a decisive step for Russia: President Medevedev had refused three times to receive Mechaal when he passed through Moscow; this time he had an interview with him and, what is more, in Damascus. On this occasion, the Russian president stressed the increasing urgency of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and deplored Washington's lack of interest in solving this tragedy. Finally, alluding to Israeli threats to bomb the convoys of weapons from Syria to Lebanon, he warned Tel Aviv against an escalation of tension.

Russia supports the political and economic rapprochement in progress between Iran, Syria and Turkey. The three leading States in the Middle East have entered a phase of intense cooperation. In a matter of months, they have opened their borders and liberalised their trade at an accelerated pace. Their economies which were paralised by years of war have suddenly been energised. Russia has no intention of staying out of this new area of prosperity. Immediately, Ankara and Moscow have brought up the need for visas for their citizens. In this way, a Turk can enter Russia without any formalities while he cannot do the same in the United States nor the EU, despite the fact that Turkey is a NATO member and a EU candidate.

Moscow has set up permanent consultative bodies at high diplomatic and economic levels with Damascus and Ankara, in contrast with the policy of the United States. Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had ordered Syria to distance itself from the Resistance. In response, President Bashar al-Assad immediately appeared alongside his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and ironically signed a document titled "Treaty of reduced distance". The meeting was convened short notice and Khaled Mechaal could not attend, but Hamas was nevertheless involved in the process. Following up on his threats, President Barack Obama has renewed economic sanctions against Syria for another two years.

Rosatom and Atomstroyexport, which are completing the construction of a civilian nuclear plant in Iran (Bushehr) and are contemplating new ones, will build another one in Turkey for 20 billion dollars. It should be launched in seven years. A similar project is under study in Syria. The lack of electricity in a region that withstood Israeli bombardments is the main obstacle to economic development. From a Middle Eastern point of view, Russia's eagerness to build these power stations stems less from a commercial appetite than from a desire to provide the populations concerned with the means to accelerate the economic development that Westerners have denied them for so long. In addition Stroitransgaz and Gazprom will ensure the transit of Syrian gas to Lebanon, Beirut being prevented by its Israeli neighbour from exploiting its large reserves offshore.

Militarily, Russia has taken delivery of its new naval base in Syria. This will allow it to restore the balance in the Mediterranean from which Russia has been more or less absent since the dissolution of the USSR. It also confirmed the forthcoming delivery of S-300 missiles to Tehran to protect Iran from U.S. and Israeli threats of bombardment.

While condemning Iran's provocations, Russian diplomats have reiterated that they do not believe in Western accusations about Iran's and Syria's alleged nuclear weapons programme. While the protocol among the states bordering the Caspian Sea only provides for a supply of arms to Iran in case of attack, President Dmitry Medvedev spoke of a possible direct involvement of Russia and warned the United States against a war in Iran that could degenerate into a Third World War. On this basis, he endorsed the denuclearization plan of the region, that is to say the dismantling of the Israeli nuclear arsenal. The case has recently been brought before the IAEA.

Russia attaches special importance to helping Turkey resolve its ancient disputes with Greece and Armenia, including the Cyprus and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts. Thus, Ankara could move away permanently from Tel Aviv and Washington and recover its full independence. Important, albeit insufficient, steps have been made by President Abdullah Gül vis-à-vis Yerevan. Ignoring 95 years of hatred, Turkey and Armenia established diplomatic relations. Further progress should follow vis-à-vis Athens with the blessing of the Orthodox Patriarch Cyril I of Moscow. From this point of view, Recip Erdogan's visit to Greece marks a historical event that boosts the process of reconciliation in the Aegean Sea, which began in the 30s and was interrupted by the Second World War.

Disrupting U.S. strategy in the Black Sea and the Caspian, Ankara accepted a huge Russian investment to build a pipeline between Samsun to Ceyhan. It is expected to carry Russian oil from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean without having to use the straits, unfit for the transit of pollutants. Identically, Ankara is considering its possible involvement in the Russian South Stream gas pipeline project. If it were to be confirmed, it would render ineffectual the competing Nabucco project sponsored by the United States and the European Union.

Ultimately, Russia's support ensures the sustainability of the Tehran-Damascus-Ankara triangle in the face of U.S. and European hostility. The strategic balance in the Middle East has tipped. The shockwave could spread to the Caucasus.

(8) Kurdish Iraq is prospering, and is notably pro-Israeli - Max Boot

Kurdish Iraq: An Emerging Success

Max Boot: This One Part of Iraq is Working Better Than the Other Part

May 19, 2010

Max Boot is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/19/opinion/main6497879.shtml

Iraq has improved immeasurably since the dark days of 2006 when hundreds were being killed every day by al Qaeda bombs and Sadrist death squads in Baghdad. ...

Driving down Baghdad’s dingy streets, as I did recently as part of a delegation from the Council on Foreign Relations, one is sometimes tempted to despair. What chance is there, the visitor may reasonably wonder, that the capital of this oil-rich country will ever be truly peaceful, not to mention as luxurious as Doha, Dubai, or other boomtowns to the south on the Persian Gulf?

A short trip north to the Kurdish region, where 4.5 million of Iraq’s 30 million people live, offers a different, more hopeful perspective. Known as the Kurdish Regional Government, or KRG, this area feels as safe as it gets in the Middle East. Terrorist attacks aren’t a concern. Americans can wander around without body armor or bodyguards-even if they’re in uniform. Don’t try it in Baghdad. That’s a tribute to the effectiveness of the Kurdish intelligence service, the Asayesh, and to their peshmerga troops (“those who face death”). It also has something to do with Kurdish attitudes toward the United States. There is none of the lingering resentment that is still prevalent in the rest of Iraq; Kurds are among the most pro-American people on the planet. They regularly and profusely thank American visitors for liberating them from Saddam Hussein’s murderous regime-not something one often hears from Iraqi Arabs.

There are also many sights in Erbil that you don’t see in the rest of Iraq. They include a spanking new airport that puts dinosaurs like New York’s Kennedy Airport to shame, and new shopping malls, banks, stores, homes, and hotels that would not be out of place in Europe. Erbil, the capital of the KRG, seems a world away from the rest of Iraq even though it is located only 50 miles from Mosul, the most violent city in the entire country and the only one where Al Qaeda in Iraq remains a major threat. Almost all of the development has occurred in the last few years, filling once-empty fields with modern buildings.

The Kurdish region’s prosperity is fueled by oil. The KRG actually has considerably less oil than the rest of Iraq. It is entitled to just 17 percent of Iraqi oil revenues. So why is the KRG so much richer today? The difference is that the KRG government has gotten its act together and is much further along in attracting foreign investment, exploiting its natural wealth, and spending the proceeds. ...

Taking advantage of their newfound autonomy, the Kurds have instituted pro-growth policies that encourage outside investment, something that is still viewed with great suspicion in the rest of Iraq, where the socialist legacy of the Baathist state lingers even among the most strident anti-Baathists.

Flexibility Toward Israel

Kurdish leaders have also shown geopolitical wisdom by not seeking independence as demanded by most of their people. They realize that, surrounded by hostile states, an independent Kurdistan could not flourish. Instead of confronting its neighbors, the Kurdish Regional Government is working with them. Its most notable success has come with Turkey, which in 2007 was threatening to invade the KRG to root out rebels from Turkey’s own Kurdish community, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party). Today the KRG and Turkey have flourishing trade ties and expanding diplomatic links. The Turkish government has even invited Massoud Barzani to visit in his capacity as president of the Kurdish Regional Government, whose very existence the Turks only recently recognized.

Another sign of the Kurds’ sagacity is their attitude toward Israel. In Iraq proper, visiting the “Zionist entity” is still considered a death-defying feat to be undertaken only by the extremely brave or foolish. (Mithal al Alusi, a member of parliament who has visited Israel, was charged with visiting an “enemy state,” and his sons were killed in a terrorist attack.)

But the Kurds, who are secular Sunni Muslims, are notably pro-Israeli in their attitudes. If it would not risk a major rift with the rest of Iraq, they would be happy to establish formal ties with the Jewish state. As it is, they maintain informal links. The Barzanis, the first family of the KRG, have a branch in Israel with whom they keep in contact. “It would be good for Iraq to have good relations with Israel,” a senior Kurdish politician told me. ...