War drums on!
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran ... BZ09S?il=0Tehran and Ankara fear the spread of separatism to their own Kurds. Iran also supports Shi‘ite groups who have been ruling or holding key security and government positions in Iraq since the 2003 U.S-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein.
Turkey, meanwhile, said on Sunday its aircraft launched strikes against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq’s Gara region on Saturday after spotting militants preparing to attack Turkish military outposts on the border.
”Turkey will never ever tolerate any status change or any new formations on its southern borders,“ Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. ”The KRG will be primarily responsible for the probable developments after this referendum.
The KRG has resisted calls to delay the referendum by the United Nations, the United States and Britain who fear it could further destabilize the region.....
http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-c ... BZ0D1?il=0http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Interna ... istan.htmlAnkara and Tehran seem to be preparing a combined military strategy to quell any Kurdish independence gains. However, these allies may have overlooked the changing position that Russia, Iran’s main ally in Syria, is currently taking inside the Kurdish movement.
Growing business links between Moscow and Erbil, such as the major deal just signed by Rosneft to build a vast gas export pipeline in Kurdistan, show that Moscow is once again playing a Russian roulette version of the Middle East chess game. Growing cooperation between the Kurdish government, led by the KDP, President Masoud Barzani, and Putin’s associates, could put the Kurds in a better position to achieve and maintain independence.
The West, represented by the U.S. and its European partners, plays a disputed and fledgling role. After promoting and supporting the de-facto Kurdish independent state after the removal of Saddam Hussein, while arming them during their battles against Daesh/IS and Al Qaeda, Western governments show a lack of stamina and political influence.
The already-weak position Western countries presently have in the Middle East is particularly apparent now. Washington, London, Brussels and Paris haven’t been willing to support the democratic moves made in Erbil, while also ignoring the growing instability and security issues confronting the Kurds in their home regions. From Washington and Europe, the Kurdish state shouldn’t expect a message of love.
******************
PEAK OIL