There is some horrible news out of Kurdistan today. Ekurd.net reports that Mawloud Afand, editor of an Israel-Kurdish magazine called Israel Kurd “disappeared ten days ago in [the] Kurdistan region of Iraq.” Israeli news sources say he was kidnapped by Iranian intelligence in the city of Sulaimaniyah. Ekurd.net claims that Iran had told the Kurdish government to shut Israel Kurd down and it refused.
The Kurds have long been accused of Zionist collaboration owing to their mostly cooperative relationship with Israelis. In fact, one popular argument against a safe and autonomous Kurdistan is that it would be a “second Israel” in the region. There are obvious commonalities between the Middle East’s Kurds and Jews. Both are overwhelmingly pro-American (the Kurds rightly credit the U.S. with saving them from Saddam), largely inclined toward democracy, and have histories as persecuted minorities. Afand’s interest in an Israeli-Kurdish connection is representative of a not-so-quiet sense of Kurdish solidarity with Jews. He also, from what I can gather, has some Jewish family. There are Jewish Kurds, some of whom claim that Abraham of the Hebrew Bible was Kurdish.
The current Kurdish relationship with Iran is tricky. As the American presence in Iraq dwindled and then disappeared, Iran took the opportunity to increase its political influence both in Baghdad and with the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. Among the Kurds, this manifests in day-to-day commercial ties and an increased oil trade with Iran. While the Kurds would be far happier to deal with Americans on both a commercial and political level, their precarious status leaves them few options about whom to accept as business partners. Many political decisions for the Kurds are a matter of survival, not prosperity (something else they share with Israelis). Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is Kurdish and there are reports that Tehran is pressuring him to save the Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from a no-confidence vote. The idea that Iraq is now an Iranian satrapy is way over the top but there’s no question that Iran has a troubling amount of influence on Iraqi affairs.
If Afand was kidnapped by Iran it stands as yet another tragic consequence of the United States’ failure to maintain a presence in post-war Iraq and especially to build up our relationship with our most eager and appreciative Muslim allies. It also highlights the singular bravery and decency of the Kurds that they make mortal enemies of the fanatical Iranian thugs to whose will they refuse fully to bend. Last, it’s another reminder of the Iranian regime’s implacable and ever more brazen savagery in a world abandoned by the leadership of the American superpower.
"in a world abandoned by the leadership of the American superpower …" That's the key to what's happening. When Russia speaks of waning American influence, it isn't a matter of American weakness makes us unable to influence, but Obama choosing to take some self-determined place as only one of every nation in the UN is just as exceptional (and maybe that's why he is unilaterally disarming, to make sure). Obama has chosen to follow rather than lead — which is totally bizarre because in America he dictates and leads the hate on any group that doesn't follow him … and yet he wants to follow every other nation and let our allies (such as the Kurds) just go it alone. Obama is making us nobody's friend. Is it any wonder what other countries think of us now?
Obama "dictates and leads the hate on any group that doesn't follow him" n nAnd you get thumbs ups for that absurd, infantile venom? n
you earn approval with that reply to that son of a fistula.
The news is bad and Greenwald's "If Afand was kidnapped by Iran it stands as yet another tragic consequence of the United States’ failure to maintain a presence in post-war Iraq .." is worse. n nanother outpouring of swamp gas from a head overfilled with noxious fuming. n
Mawloud Afand nMawloud Afand n nThere is some horrible news out of Kurdistan today reports that Mawloud Afand, editor of an Israel-Kurdish magazine called Israel Kurd “disappeared ten days ago in [the] Kurdistan region of Iraq.” Israeli news sources say he was kidnapped by Iranian intelligence in the city of Sulaimaniyah. Ekurd.net claims that Iran had told the Kurdish government to shut Israel Kurd down and it refused. n nThe Kurds have long been accused of Zionist collaboration owing to their mostly cooperative relationship with Israelis. In fact, one popular argument against a safe and autonomous Kurdistan is that it would be a “second Israel” in the region. There are obvious commonalities between the Middle East’s Kurds and Jews. Both are overwhelmingly pro-American (the Kurds rightly credit the U.S. with saving them from Saddam), largely inclined toward democracy, and have histories as persecuted minorities. Afand’s interest in an Israeli-Kurdish connection is representative of a not-so-quiet sense of Kurdish solidarity with Jews. He also, from what I can gather, has some Jewish family. There are Jewish Kurds, some of whom claim that Abraham of the Hebrew Bible was Kurdish. n nThe current Kurdish relationship with Iran is tricky. As the American presence in Iraq dwindled and then disappeared, Iran took the opportunity to increase its political influence both in Baghdad and with the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. Among the Kurds, this manifests in day-to-day commercial ties and an increased oil trade with Iran. While the Kurds would be far happier to deal with Americans on both a commercial and political level, their precarious status leaves them few options about whom to accept as business partners. Many political decisions for the Kurds are a matter of survival, not prosperity (something else they share with Israelis). Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is Kurdish and there are reports that Tehran is pressuring him to save the Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from a no-confidence vote. The idea that Iraq is now an Iranian satrapy is way over the top but there’s no question that Iran has a troubling amount of influence on Iraqi affairs. n nIf Afand was kidnapped by Iran it stands as yet another tragic consequence of the United States’ failure to maintain a presence in post-war Iraq and especially to build up our relationship with our most eager and appreciative Muslim allies. It also highlights the singular bravery and decency of the Kurds that they make mortal enemies of the fanatical Iranian thugs to whose will they refuse fully to bend. Last, it’s another reminder of the Iranian regime’s implacable and ever more brazen savagery in a world abandoned by the leadership of the American superpower.
Tanya Kurdy Concern about Mawloud Afand n n nTanya Kurdy told i bet is very concerned about Mawloud Afand, the editor of the magazine Kurd-Israel, who has been missing for the past 1 month in Kurdistan region. he set off from Erbil on 9 June with aim of going to Sulaimaniya and has not been seen since. n nTanya Kurdy at press conference said. “And we therefore call for an immediate investigation into this journalist’s disappearance.” n nafand has been living in Iraqi Kurdistan for several years. Kurd-Israel is published by the Kurd-Israel Association which promotes better relations between Israelis and Kurds and encourages Kurdish Jews who emigrated to Israel to return to Kurdistan. n nIts aims and activities are controversial and constitute a major source of discord between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian pro-government media accuse the Kurdish authorities of facilitating the “activities of the Zionist enemy’s agents,” the Israeli intelligence services. n nJust five days ago, the Iranian intelligence minister announced the arrests of several “mercenaries” and “participants” in the targeted murders of Iranian nuclear research scientists. At the same time, the minister also said that “part of Iranian intelligence activities is being carried out in neighboring countries.” nTanya Kurdy has journalist in Erbil-kurdistan-iraq and friend Mawloud Afand.