Michael Totten has a superb essay up on the skyrocketing economy in Kurdistan. Here’s a few shots (all photos are Totten’s):
Erbil’s new mall takes shape next to the souk
New apartment towers next to the Dream City project.
Businessmen without bodyguards or guns check email in the lobby of the luxurious Khan Zad resort hotel just outside Erbil.
Read the whole thing, seriously.
It’s still Iraq, you know. Kind of. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kurds declared independence in a few years. Even though pretty much everyone claims that it’d be bad news bears if they do. Looking at these shots though, it’s almost enough for me to overlook how much a sovereign Kurdistan would piss off the Turks and Iranians. Destabilizing business, I don’t mind telling you.
Of course the place would have be stable to achieve any sort of instability, so I digress….
Anyway, I saw all that construction in Totten’s report, and I couldn’t help but to wonder if Kurdistan was just a bubble waiting to burst. Totten mentioned that the place is one of the most underdeveloped in the world, no power grid, sewer system, etc. Can the Kurds produce a consumer base large enough to match the growth?
Hotel Tango: Greyhawk
Well….I personally hope that they do get their independence. If anyone was a supporter of the invasion it was the Kurds. I hope things go good for them.
The nice thing about this is that we have another staunch ally in the middle east. Kuwait is another.
yah, well Iraq in general will be our ally. If the this whole democracy thing works over there, that is.
Still, outside the iffy “Kurdish independence” thing, I’m like what I’m seeing from the Kurds.
I have been a fan of MT’s since he first began blogging. I am glad to see that you all are recognizing his work. The one thing that troubles me about “Kurdistan” is exactly what you mentioned, John. There is a large swath of Kurds that span from Turkey across Iraq and into Iran. They will want to join a Kurdistan without moving. Turkey and Iran would lose land and it would mean war with the united states in the middle.
I support us throwing our weight behind the Kurds and helping them break away from Iraq. It is, in my view, the best option we have for salvaging success from Iraq.
Short of us installing another Saddam to force Iraq’s Arab factions to get along, that is.
I believe we can convince the Kurds that we’ll support their independence from Iraq and HEAVILY assist them in liberating their population and lands in Iran and Syria… but, the caveat MUST BE that they cut their losses in Turkey. Maybe, one day a century or so from now it will be possible, just not now.
This will endear us even more with the Kurds AND serve as a DESTABILIZING factor in Syria and Iran, putting us back on the OFFENSIVE in this war (instead of having to sweat Iranian and Syrian interference in Iraq).
The other thing is we have to let the Kurds do it their way. None of this shoving democracy down their throats crap like we tried in Iraq. The Middle East don’t do democracy. Brute force (or the threat thereof) is the rule in that part of the world. We need to accept that and embrace it.
Great job, Kurds deserve an independent country.
ciduxitiqocn
nice post
SO IF I WAS TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT AND ASK FOR A LAND OR NATION IN THE MIDDLE OF CENTURY OLD COUNTRIES, WOULD YOU WILLING TO BE ESTABLISH ONE FOR ME TOO? lISTEN UP SMART GUYS, NONE OF THOSE LANDS THAT SO CALLED KURDISTAN WANTS TO BE PART OF ITS TERRETORIES GAINED BY KILLING INNOCENT NATIVE PEOPLE BUT WITH THE BLOOD OF THOUSANDS MATRYIES SO NO MATTER HOW SUPER HUGE MEGA KAZILLIONS TIME BIGGER POWER IS SUPPORTING THIS KURDISTAN B.S. IT IS JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN. BESIDES U JUST CANT PULL A COUNTRY OUT OF UR A$$
“TURK”, why don’t you take some history lessons before you open-up your big-mouth???? WHO HAS KILLED INNOCENT PEOPLE??? What about the “ANFAL of 1988″??? IT INVOLVED MASS KILLING OF THE KURDS BY THE IRAQI REGIME. How about the “Halabja poison gas attack” that left over 5,000 dead and over 7,000 injured??? How about the 8,000 Barzanis that went missing???? CHECK YOUR FACTS THE NEXT TIME YOU WANT TO BLAME OTHERS!!!!!!
About the land, we don’t have to ask, IT IS OUR LAND!!!!!!!
The earliest evidence thus far of a unified and distinct culture shared by the people inhabiting the Kurdish mountains relates to the period of the ‘Halaf Culture’ which emerged about 8000) years ago. With the aid of archaeological criteria, Reade as well as Michael Roaf (archaeologist and former director of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, and now at the University of California, Berkeley) have determined the boundaries of Halaf culture. They coincide almost exactly with the area ethnic Kurds still call home: from Kirmanshah to Adyaman, and from Afrin near the Mediterranean Sea to northern areas of Lake Van. The distribution of Halaf pottery and the distribution of ethnic Kurds today are a near-perfect match. The single exception is the Mosul-Tikrit region of the Mesopotanian lowlands which also yields Halaf pottery. James Melaart, better known for his excavation of Catal Huyuk, found many of the motifs and composite designs present on Halaf pottery and figurines still extant in the textile and decorative designs of the modern Kurds who now inhabit the same excavated Halafian sites
Turks are crying and begging their papa (America) to do something about Kurdistan region in Iraq. They are jelous to see we have achived so much freedome and we are rising to become a more technological and well recognized region in the world. Kurdistan region now trades with more 400 countries around the world. We have just build the biggest mall in Middle East, and we are building one of the biggest Air Ports in the world. God bless Kurdistan and Kurds every where. Down with turkey and Kurdish haters.
TURK you are all the same, and i want to tell u something. your old leader ataturk
he was dictator. so i want to tell you why dont you go fuck ataturk. we will have our land back soon and i dont want you died before you see KURDISTAN REPUBLIC. you did saw how we won with ARABS and we will win with (TURKS MOTHER FUCKERS). I hope GOD destory TURKEY as it will happend one day…
and you should wake up and go to KURDISTAN see what is happaning over there..
Wow, that was an interesting read. Can you believe there is still such ignorance in the world?? I bet that “TURK” doesn’t even revisit this site to read his replies. probably too busy running his kebab shop. Maybe he’s attended an english school here, (on my tax i expect) but its obviously a shite one, as he can’t even spell territories, or martyrs..
Anonymous, dec 06, sure knows his/her stuff. How refreshing to read real facts from someone who knows, rather than listen to an ignorant twat like a “turk”… sure does make a bad name for turks doesn’t it!!
If it takes 8,000 years for Kurdistan to become a Republic, Inshallah, then it WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT
Horshmehwait Kurdistan Bijzeh Kurdistan
Karzan London, UK :-)
you know everybody says the war is bad but you gotta look at the positive side, i am from irbil, kurdistan, the city where the the pictures are at. in the future, whole iraq will be improving in a few years.
BTW Fuck all turks…
well turk let me ask you something how did your country take the kurdish territories? didn’t your country kill thousands of kurds for it so im guessing its fair enough for us to kill you too.
Turks cant do anything about it. they are brainwashed from the beginning of their facist life. 70 percent of all turks are active supporters of their grey wulf group and that group wants all kurds DEAD…and still they want to call us terrorists,,, if the PKK did not came, every kurd in turkey would be a mountainturk IN CONSTITUTION…
btw, I dont accept those who want to achieve their own freedom, by using violence against innocent people,,
but people listen, why would I believe that the PKK is after a terroristic bomattack if all victims are kurds in a kurdish district of Konstantinopel…?
Just like the Medes united and crushed their enemies, we modern day Kurds will unite and crush our modern day enemies.
We have history, dignity, pride etc, unfortunatly our people back home are mostly uneducated, but if you educate only 50% of the Kurds, that would mean a sure victory for the Kurds.
Oh by the way, I am happy for Turks and Arabs, that Kurds don’t have an REAL army with REAL weapons, or else there would have been game over a long time ago.
And Iranians are our cousins, hate the regime of Iran, but not their people.
God bless Kurdistan!
hi all, wow thoses pictures look good! Is it better in Erbil now? Is it safe? Thinking about visiting there as my partners family is there. I hope the Kurds get there country back as one, they deserve it after everything they have been through!
God bless the kurds!
im 19 im from australia im a proud kurd.
ye i belive in what “REBAZ” said if more kurds were educated we wouldnt need no ones help!!
I find it funny how turks hate us so much, call us mountain turks and call us terrorist and the world listens to them.
when in reality they genocided our poeple and stole our land. Why are we terrorists? because we want the land back that our ancestors grew up in and faught for thousands of years? we kill inoccent people? who are the innocent people i never knew the turkish army were inoccent people but they find it fine to kill woman and children in the thousands and use “terrorist activity” to justify there actions!.
Did use know its illegal to have a kurdish name and to speak any kurdish in turkey!.
SHAME ON YOU TURKEY.
But again you have to really think about why they oppress and hate us kurds so much i belive its becuase they fear us. what we have achived under a dictators regime….GENOCIDE,HALABJA CHEMICAL ATTACKS!!..millions of missing till this day..and to look at how fast the kurdish aconomy is developing and our army i dont blame then for been scared..all i have to say is what goes around comes around and that god is great long live kurdistan.
and to “TURK” u uneducated shit talking faggot.
Kurdistan the country of Kurds is a region located on the north of the Middle East. It comprises east and south east of Turkey, west of Iran, north of Iraq and Syria. Since the end of I.World War, Kurdistan have been divided between Turkey( %43) Iran (%31), Iraq (%18), Syria and former Soviet Union (%2) and the Kurdish homeland is consist of 200.000 square miles and it’s almost equal to France.
Approximately Kurds form a population of over “40 million”. Almost “20 million” of them are living in Turkey, “10 million” of them are living in Iran, “6,2 million” in Iraq, “1,5 million” in Syria, “500 thousand” in former Soviet Union and almost “2 million” in Diaspora (Western Europe, America and Australia)
The language they speak is totally different from Turkish, Persian and Arabic and it’s called Kurdish. Kurdish is an Indo-European Language consists of four main dialects as Kurmandji, Sorani, Zazaki and Gorani. Most of the Kurds in Turkey are speaking Kurmandji and a three million of them use Zazaki. The speakers of Gorani and Sorani are mostly living in Iran and Iraq.
The earliest account of the Kurds in history comes from a Sumerian clay tablet in 3rd millennium BC, on which the name of a land called Karda or Qarda is inscribed. This land conspire the south of Lake Van. The Assyrians called the people living in Mt. Azu or Hizan (near Lake Van) by the name Kurti or Kurkhi. Kurds also trace their ancestors to Medes. This relation is supported by linguistic evidence, as Kurds speak a Western Iranian language.
By the 6th century BC, Medes defeated the Assyrian Empire and established their own empire. Later the Kurdish kingdoms of Cortea, Media, Kirm, and Adiabene, by the first century BC, become confederate members of the Parthian-Federation.
IN CONCLUSION IM SURE THERE IS MORE THAN ENOUGHT EVIDENCE TO PROVE OUR ANCESTORS OWNED AND FAUGHT FOR THE LAND THAT U STOLE AND CALL HOME TODAY!!! U FAGGOT EDUCATE YYOURSELF A BIT BEFORE U OPEN THAT BIG MOUTH OF URS INSTEED OF LISTNING TO UR DADDYS STORYS WHEN U WERE A KID.
hi everyone. first off all its a shame that the style of the writer called turk. besides the kurdish writers are over rude too.
the writings are belongs the writers and shows their level of kindness. you swear a leader of a nation are you satisfied with that now ı wonder? swearing a man lying in the graveyard.what would you feel if someone swear molla mustafa barzani? arent you muslims shouldnt be talking after a dead guy? or you probably a jew cuz you act like we are enemies. infact we are one cuz our god is one our prophet is one so as we believe in islam we all one and brothers. the racisim and being fan about our nations is what evil(us and uk) is making us do. so peace will never come as they want. araps dont like kurds. kurds dont like turks and turkmens. turks dont like arabs and kurds. dont you see the view are you blind for what are they doing to us. thats a plan for ages. look all the muslim countries is there any hope of developing or tech? afghanistan pakistan turkiye iran ırak all middleeast north africa all african muslim countries vs show me one simple country that there is peace or high level tech or high level living standards? no simply present what a pity that these countries have became the play ground of cia kgb mossad mı6. so stop verbal harrasment and behave like muslims, brothers and neighbours. dont let them make us forget that we are brothers. may allah mercy on those who plant rage and racisim breeds between muslims.
love for all– another turk