Have Iraqi Kurdish leaders learned from past lessons?

Serwan Zangana | Exclusive to iKurd.net

The meeting between President of Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani and Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler on Wednesday, February 7, in Erbil was supposedly about security of the region. This is what the statement of the Kurdistan President’s Office read. But ironically, it did not take long after the meeting for Turkey to strike on some areas of Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan.

However, it was not the first time for a Turkish official to meet with an Iraqi Kurdish leader in regard to the security which means to keep the iron fist on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as the main concern for Turkey. Clearly, this visit by the Turkish Defense Minister was to deliver a message to the Kurdish leaders. One of the main purposes of Turkey’s relationship with Iraqi Kurdish leaders is the cooperation in the fight against the PKK. But obviously, Turkey and Iraqi Kurdish leaders are altering the actual image of this visit in order to conceal the reality from the public.

As the English author George Orwell said, “ Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.” Indeed, this is what both Turkish and Kurdish leaders are intended to do.

The threat of Turkey is pervasive as its military operations are impacting the lives and the infrastructures of the area. According to the Human Right Watch report in October, 2023, the Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish areas in Syria have affected the infrastructures for millions of people.

Basically, the Turks now are benefiting from this style of government in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Regional Government’s lack of border control has paved a path for Turkey to move the troops freely within the area and attack the PKK. The Iraqi Kurdish leaders are willing by any means to cooperate with Turkey to avoid major unrest in the region and also protect their financial interests.

However, Turkey is failing in countering and eliminating the PKK and the other affiliated groups in the region. Turkey’s miscalculation regarding dealing with the PKK is primarily affecting Kurds and to some degrees Turks civilians compared to the actual PKK fighters. For decades, Turkey’s government has been fighting the PKK and prosecuting its members. Turkey has also involved various groups and mercenaries in the fight. For example, the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was once involved directly with Turkey in the military operation against the PKK in 1992.

However, Turkey will continue its relationship with the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG as long as the KDP abides by the rules against the PKK. And between the corruption and lack of power, the Kurdish leaders are less likely to oppose Turkey and stand against its agenda in Kurdistan.

The vulnerabilities of Kurdish leaders, the crises and the question of contingency plan:

Throughout the history of the Kurdish revolutions and struggle many leaders and figures have been assassinated or captured either directly by the ruling regimes of the region or by the International stratagems. As those prominent Kurdish leaders were indiscriminately eliminated, their cases were left in the dark without being pursued by the international community or court for legal actions. To look at the broader picture, the threat is even larger than it appears. Realizing that beside Turkey, Iran is posing an immense threat. And perhaps, Iraq which is ruled by the majority Iran-backed parties and groups can be a potential threat to Iraqi Kurds.

In addition to the threats of the neighboring countries, and based on the past experiences, the U.S is not a completely trusted ally. The Kurds in general have an unpleasant history and crises caused by American politicians. For example, the U.S had a major role providing intelligence in assisting the Turkish government to capture the Kurdish figure Abdullah Ocala in 1999. It is noteworthy that Israel has been a significant partner with the U.S in some major plots against Kurds in the region.

Moreover, the collapse of Kurds under Barzani’s leadership can be another lesson for the Kurdish politicians to see their vulnerabilities. The agreement of 1975 between Saddam Hussein and the Shah to stop the assistance to the Kurds was not objected to by any powerful countries in the world. David Kom, a former foreign service officer in “ The Last Years of Mustafa Barzani-1994” mentioned how Secretary of State, at the time, Henry Kissinger reacted when he heard about the Iraq-Iran agreement to stop support Barzani “ It wasn’t a matter of principle or humanitarian concern for the betrayed Kurds that aroused Kissinger’s ire…… it was simply that Kissinger had been looking forward to having the Kurds continue to tie down the Iraqis and prevent Baghdad’s making trouble for Israel.” Kom said.

Seemingly, the Kurds don’t have any permanent allies, and there is no friend for the sake of friendship. Even Barzani’s Israeli close friends abandoned him during the crisis. This indicates that Kurdish leaders are vulnerable to plots by the powerful nations either in the region or the world. Turkey and KRG relationship has no solid foundation and can crumble at any time. The question is: Do the Iraqi Kurdish leaders have learned lessons from previous catastrophes to have a back up plan, or the greed and corruption have blinded them?

Serwan Zangana, a contributing writer for iKurd.net, lives in Virginia, U.S. He serves as a correction officer.

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.