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Iraqi Kurdistan's Neda
9.5.2010
By Michael Rubin
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May 9, 2010
The New York Times has a
report about
the abduction and
murder of a
young Kurdish journalist in Erbil, the capital of
Iraqi Kurdistan. Zardosht Osman has become a symbol,
much like Neda, the young Iranian woman gunned down
in last year's elections protests in Tehran.
However, Sam Dagher, the Times's reporter, is wrong
to say that there was no reaction from the local
government. He appears unaware that Khabat, an organ
of Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party,
reported the murder, but refused to identify
Sardasht Osman as a journalist, simply saying it was
a student. They likewise refused to discuss the
security forces present, and simply suggested
terrorists got him.
To suggest the Kurdistan Regional Government will
investigate is nonsense:
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Michael Rubin |
The
force accused of the kidnapping and torture is run
by Masrour Barzani,
an American University
graduate who happens to be Massoud Barzani's son.
Like Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay under the old
system, he's untouchable. But even if Masrour wasn't
directly involved, the Kurdistan Regional Government
did not investigate the murder, allegedly by Kurdish
security, of a Lvin journalist in 2008, nor have
they investigated the 2005 murder of an opposition
politician in Duhok. Nor, for that matter, have the
Kurdish authorities investigated why Jalal
Talabani's nephew opened fire on a peaceful
opposition rally this past summer.
Why is this relevant? So many officials — Democrats
and Republicans both, but, alas, mostly Republican
veterans of the previous administration — are
seeking to cash out in Iraqi Kurdistan. This is
their right, and it is not necessarily against the
law (although some apparently entered into lobbying
well before they could under U.S. law,www.ekurd.netand
others seem to have violated the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act). But we should certainly recognize
the optics of American officials — many bragging of
their ties to the White House or General Jones at
the NSC — partying it up with a regime increasingly
despised by the general populace. Kurdistan may once
have been the Other Iraq, but it is transforming
into time bomb of anti-Americanism waiting to
explode. At the same time, the White House's refusal
to speak up for human rights in Iraqi Kurdistan has
emboldened the Kurdish government to become ever
more bold in their abuse.
Michael Rubin's major research area is the Middle
East, with special focus on Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and
Kurdish society. He also writes frequently on
transformative diplomacy and governance issues. At
AEI, Mr. Rubin chaired the "Dissent and Reform in
the Arab World" conference series. He was the lead
drafter of the Bipartisan Policy Center's 2008
report on Iran. In addition to his work at AEI,
several times each month, Mr. Rubin travels to
military bases across the United States and Europe
to instruct senior U.S. Army and Marine officers
deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan on issues relating
to regional state history and politics, Shiism, the
theological basis of extremism, and strategy.
The views expressed are the author's alone.
...
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