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Interview: Qubad Talabani says we won't
break away from Iraq, but If Iraq breaks away from
us.. 16.7.2007
By Kathryn Wilson
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July
16, 2007
As car bombings blast hundreds in Kirkuk, can the
29-year-old son of the Iraqi president convince the
most powerful nation in the world to stay put?
The newspapers have it
wrong:
freedom, democracy, peace, and nonviolence are alive
and well in Iraq -- just not where American troops
are stationed. That's the message constantly
repeated by Qubad Talabani, son of Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani and the main lobbyist for the Kurdish
Regional Government in Washington, D.C. But this
morning,
two suicide car bombers killed
73 people and injured 178 more in
Kirkuk--an oil-rich city which lies just south
border of the Kurdistan autonomous region with Iraq,
that may soon become Iraq's West Bank. If the United
States withdraws its troops -- a step Democrats hope
to take in April 2008 -- Talabani warns that the
relatively stable Kurdish area in the north of Iraq
will plunge into chaos. At a time when Talabani's
only ally in this fight, President George W. Bush,
has become a political eunuch, we interviewed the
29-year-old lobbyist about the state of his country.
In light of this morning's
attacks, do you see Kirkuk as a roadblock in your
efforts to show Kurdistan as a place of peace? |
Qubad Talabani is representative of the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) to the United States |
Kirkuk is getting more intense as time goes on. A
crime was committed; this crime was carried out over
the course of a decade. Hundreds of thousands of
people had their property taken out from under them
purely because of their identity. And now the
perpetrators of those crimes are facing justice. The
indigenous people of Kirkuk get to decide in a
referendum--as stipulated by the constitution--to
vote for the future status of Kirkuk in a democratic
way. Kurdistan is obviously secure and we’re telling
the residents and citizens of Kirkuk that they too
can live within this security and stability.
Kurdistan was not always this way. But through
effective government and collaboration, we were able
to rid our region of terrorists and people who
wished the region harm. And we feel confident that
we can transplant our stability and security to the
people Kirkuk for those people in favor of having
Kirkuk join the Kurdistan region.
When you do think that they’re going to get that
referendum? It's been placed on the backburner for
years.
The constitution of Iraq--a document voted on by
over 11 million people--states that the referendum
that defines the future of Kirkuk must be held no
later than December of 2007. We can’t choose which
articles we implement and don’t, and that’s why what
we’re saying is not out of the ordinary. It’s not
something in the Kurds' agenda to decide Kirkuk’s
future.
What do you say to
lawmakers who want to pull out of Iraq?
The withdrawal by the American troops from Iraq will
be a catastrophe. We sympathize with the impatience
of the American people. We understand that the
sacrifices of the American people cannot go on
forever without results. But we ask them to realize
that America has a moral obligation to at least
defend the Kurdish people. After all we've suffered
though -- to build up what he have and get so close
to creating something that is sustainable and
successful -- to put that success in jeopardy
because of a complete withdrawal of the forces from
Iraq right now? It's an injustice.
What about Americans who
have lost loved ones in Iraq?
American families have suffered. Iraqi families have
suffered. And there were families who were suffering
before this war. Iraqis were being killed because of
their beliefs, because of their ethnicity, because
of their political ideologies, and that suffering
has ended now. Now, it's a battle against terrorism.
That's a long war and it's going to involve many
countries and many forces. It's going to require
politics, it's going to require money -- it's not a
war that can be waged by your military alone.
Several politicians believe
we should never have invaded Iraq. Do you think it
was a bad idea?
It wasn't a bad idea -- it was a great idea! War was
not the best solution but it was the only solution.
The Iraqis were suffering every day under Saddam's
regime. Now there is a suffering of a different kind
today. There is a hope to address that suffering,
whereas under Saddam's regime there was no hope. It
was just continuous and muffled suffering.
What's the one question
everyone asks you?
My assessment of the situation on the ground in
Iraq.
And your answer is?
A long, complex, winding answer that doesn't say
anything. It's obviously far from ideal. If you look
at the Kurdish area, it's thriving, it's prosperous,
it's developing, it's peaceful, it's stable, it's a
model of what we had hoped the rest of the country
would become. It's far from perfect, but it's
encouraging, it's progress, and it's getting better
all the time. It's important that Americans
understand that there is a part of Iraq that is
working, and they should be proud of that because
America sacrificed its soldiers for that success.
It's protected us for well over a decade with no-fly
zones that allowed us to create institutions of
government. That's why you'll find that most Kurds
are thankful to the Americans, despite the fact that
throughout history, America has let the Kurds down.
[Ed. note: For example, refusing to help the Kurds
during Saddam Hussein's genocidal Anfal Campaign in
1988.] There have been betrayals, and what is
happening now is that the debate [over pulling out
troops] is fueling instability, and it's making many
Kurds wonder if there is another betrayal around the
corner.
Iraq is on the verge of a
religious civil war. Where do you fit in here?
My religion is Islam, but I live a secular life. I'm
disappointed that religious leaders of my faith
aren't condemning the atrocities being committed by
the cowards in the name of religion.
As a Kurd, do you also
consider yourself an Iraqi?
Yes, I'm a Kurd. I'm a Kurd from Iraq.
Do you see Kurdistan
seceding from Iraq?
The Kurdish leadership has committed themselves to a
federal democracy in Iraq -- we won't break away
from Iraq. If Iraq breaks away from us, there's
nothing that we can do about that. If Iraq fails as
a state, then we will have no option but to continue
running our own affairs.
Will you go quietly, or do
you foresee a conflict?
I don't know. Unfortunately, we have to be prepared
for every scenario. We have an able and competent
security force who are able to protect the Kurdistan
region from internal and external aggression.
What's one thing about
American politics you'd like to bring to Kurdistan?
I envy the institutions that you have here in the
United States. We long to have institutions and
officials that are accountable. People are
accountable [in Washington, DC]. You have a
president who, if he steps out of line, will be
quickly pulled back into line by the Congress. A
president being impeached is a rarity in the Middle
East. You have elected members. Not all members of
the Congress are clean as a whistle, but they lose
their jobs when they're not. That rarely happens in
the Middle East. That's checks and balances, the
balance of power between the different branches of
government. We don't have -- and probably will never
have -- an American-style democracy in Iraq or
Kurdistan. And the democracy that we're building in
our part of Iraq will be relative to what's
acceptable in our society. But the important thing
here is building up civil society and getting our
citizens to participate in shaping the government
and shaping its policies. Your democracy is two
hundred years old and still evolving -- to expect
Iraq to go from a dictatorship to a full-fledged
democracy overnight is perhaps asking a little too
much.
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