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Qubad Talabani: The Kurds are allies to
the United States and we're proud of it
28.6.2007
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June
28, 2007
WASHINGTON -- From a modest office a few
blocks from the White House, Qubad Talabani directs
a multimillion-dollar campaign to convince American
citizens and leaders that Kurds are their best
friends in Iraq.
Talabani, the son of Iraq's president, is lobbying
Congress and the Bush administration not to withdraw
U.S. forces. He says that it's a matter of survival
for Iraq's 5 million ethnic Kurds, most of whom live
in the northern provinces that make up the
semi-autonomous Kurdistan regional government.
"In the Middle East, we're seen as being allied with
the United States," says Talabani, the Kurdish
government's top representative in the USA. "That
makes us unpopular in the Arab world, but we're
proud of it. We hope that alliance, that friendship,
will be reciprocated."
The Kurds are the most aggressive of the Iraqi
religious and ethnic factions jockeying for
influence over U.S. policy. The Iraqi Embassy
represents the Shiite Muslim-dominated government. |
Qubad Talabani is representative of the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) to the United States. |
The Supreme Council for
Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a major Shiite party,
also has a Washington representative, Karim al-Musawi.
The largest political party representing minority
Sunni Muslims, the coalition al-Tawafuq, has two
lobbyists — Muthanna al-Hanooti and Mohammed Alomari,
both of suburban Detroit.
The Kurds have spent nearly $3 million on lobbying
and public relations efforts here since 2003,
including paying powerhouse Republican lobbying firm
Barbour Griffith & Rogers nearly $1.7 million,
according to Justice Department records. The Kurds'
top lobbyist there is Ed Rogers, a former White
House aide to former presidents Ronald Reagan and
George H.W. Bush.
According to Justice Department records, the Iraqi
lobbying activities in Washington included:
•Barbour Griffith lobbyists met with Bush
administration officials on the Kurds' behalf a
dozen times between December 2005 and November 2006.
They met with Ross Wilson, the U.S. ambassador to
Turkey, and President Bush's deputy national
security adviser for Iraq, Meghan O'Sullivan. Among
other issues, the Kurds want U.S. support for their
continued semi-autonomous status and their drive to
make the oil-rich city of Kirkuk part of their
territory.
•Consultants from three firms, led by Theros &
Theros LLP, arranged media interviews and meetings
with lawmakers for Ayad Allawi during the time he
headed the Iraqi Governing Council in 2003 and 2004.
Allawi, who later was named interim prime minister
before elections in 2005, was trying to build
support among lawmakers and think-tank experts.
•White & Case lawyers advised the Iraqi government
what action to take against those responsible for
the corruption in the Oil-for-Food Program under
Saddam Hussein.
•Al-Hanooti, president of Focus on Advocacy and
Advancement of International Relations, met with a
half-dozen U.S. officials, including O'Sullivan, on
behalf of al-Tawafuq. The party's goals include
implementing a military draft to increase Sunni
representation in Iraq's security forces and
prosecuting militias responsible for sectarian
killings. Al-Hanooti's registration with the Justice
Department also says the Sunni party supports U.S.
negotiations with Sunni insurgents, which the
document refers to as "the Iraqi Armed Resistance."
Al-Hanooti declined to comment.
Talabani, an affable former Maserati mechanic
married to a former U.S. State Department official,
became head of the Kurds' Washington office in
December. He says he wants to raise Americans'
awareness of his people.
In an office adorned with a photo of his father with
President Bush, Talabani explains that the Kurds
want to be viewed by Americans as savvy business
partners and loyal allies "fighting shoulder to
shoulder in the war on terrorism." The Kurds'
efforts have included advertisements on Fox News
Channel and in the Wall Street Journal touting their
region as "the other Iraq."
"We want to develop an unbreakable friendship with
the American people," Talabani says.
Talabani's biggest concern is a U.S. pullout, which
he says would leave the Kurds vulnerable to Iran or
to extremists aligned with al-Qaeda. A U.S.-enforced
no-fly zone from 1992 to 2003 has spared the region
much of the violence and neglect the rest of Iraq
has suffered in the past two decades.
"If our commitment to a federal democracy in Iraq is
not backed up with a sense of support from the
United States," he said, "our future is going to be
very hard."
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