Things are getting tense as Kurdistan is between Iraq and a hard place
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Source: Think Progress
The Kurdish Regional Government is getting squeezed from all sides after the September 25 referendum pursuing formalized independence from Iraq passed with overwhelming majority. On Friday, Baghdad blocked all international flights into the Kurdish region’s two international airports and is sending troops to the borders of the Kurdish region, which sits in northern Iraq.
Although the it found a powerful ally in the Kurdish Peshmerga forces the fight against ISIS in Iraq, the United States went from hoping Barzani would simply delay the referendum to flat-out saying “the results lack legitimacy.” In a statement released on Friday night, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said:
We urge calm and an end to vocal recriminations and threats of reciprocal actions. We urge Iraqi Kurdish authorities to respect the constitutionally-mandated role of the central government and we call upon the central government to reject threats or even allusion to possible use of force. The United States asks all parties, including Iraq’s neighbors, to reject unilateral actions and the use of force.
If Tillerson’s language seems blunt, it’s nothing compared to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who, speaking at a political rally on Saturday, accused the Kurds of “opening a wound in the region to twist the knife in.” He added the KRG would “pay the price” for going through with the referendum.
Read more: https://thinkprogress.org/kurdistan-between-iraq-hard-place-1c142449db1e/
This is not going to end well..................
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