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The most outrageous salary Iraq: Massoud Barzani Salary $400,00, per month,

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The question is where do Barzani deposit his salary in Kurdistan or at Erdogan Bank?

BAGHDBarazani-moneyAD,— Iraqi President and his deputies’ monthly salaries amount reach 269 million dinars (roughly $ 235,500) Iraqi MP for the Coalition of State Law, Awatif Naima said on Tuesday, indicating that this amount represents a waste of public money, Iraqinews reported.

”President Fuad Masum receives 80 million dinars ($ 70,000) as a monthly salary,” pointing out that, “All three of the Vice President of the Republic receive 63 million dinars as a monthly salary.” Naima said.

“The salaries of Masum and his deputies represent a waste of public money, particularly as we live in a critical economic crisis due to the drop in oil price,” she said, calling for “reducing the salaries of the three presidencies and those with high status into half to avoid the shortfall to the general budget.”

Kurdish magazine (Levin) reported in 2010, remuneration and the monthly salary of Massoud Barzani, the president of the autonomous Kurdistan Region in Iraq’s north is $400,000 dollars per month.

This amount is equivalent to the salary and allowances of Barack Obama President of the USA for a full year, because Obama is the salary ($ 33,333) dollars and only equal to ($400,000) dollars a year. The Kurdistan region budget not to exceed 8 billion dollars a year in return that the annual budget for the United States is ($14,264) trillion dollars.

Former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani monthly salary was 75 million Iraqi dinars, which make 900 million dinars (roughly $700,000) annually,

Need to be mentioned that a medical source in Erbil revealed in 2014 that the cost of  treating Iraqi President Jalal Talabani amounted to $150 million USD from Iraq’s budget.  The source said, in a statement to Iraqi News that “Talabani’s medical expenses during the first six months in Germany amounted to $120 million USD, indicating that he was transferred later to another place. The expenses spent on taking care of him were estimated at $30 million US dollars.”

Oil and Kurdish independence

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writes Salah Nasrawi, Iraq’s Kurds have pinned high hopes on oil to fulfill their dream of independence, but oil may also be undermining it,

2014-635537611083754977-375_resizedIraq’s Kurds have long argued that they have nothing to lose by fighting for independence but the chains represented by Iraq’s Arabs. For decades they have been waiting for, and sometimes trying to create, the right moment to go their own way.

When Kurdistan started extracting oil after gaining autonomy following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, hopes were high among the Kurds that lucrative revenues would be used to build an independent economy and help them to break away from Iraq.

This year, as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) started selling its crude independently, it cut most of its ties with Baghdad and started preparing for the day when the Kurds are able to erect the political barriers that will separate them from Iraq.

The KRG was hoping to generate finance and lay the economic foundations for Kurdish independence. The region has reserves estimated at 45 million barrels and initial exports of some 320,000 barrels per day (bpd), to be raised to one million bpd next year, in addition to huge gas reserves.

But a sharp drop in oil prices in recent weeks, with market forecasts for cheaper crude for years to come, have quelled the rush to leave Iraq. The sudden slide in prices and fears of revenue decline have forced Erbil to hand over its oil to Baghdad to sell.

The trend should be familiar in oil geopolitics: history repeats itself and oil wealth shows once again that it is a double-edged sword.

Last week, Baghdad and Erbil announced that they had reached a deal to end a lingering oil and budget dispute. Under the agreement the KRG will sell 550,000 barrels of oil a day, including 300,000 from Kirkuk province, through the Iraqi state-owned Oil Marketing Company (SOMO).

In return, the government of Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi will start sending the Kurds about $17 billion, which is their share of the national budget, and an additional $1 billion for weapons and salaries for the Kurdish Peshmerga force.

The agreement should end a year-long crisis during which the government of former prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki ordered a freeze on the KRG’s share of the national budget over an oil dispute when Erbil started selling its crude independently.

While Al-Abadi’s government put out a vague statement, saying that the agreement “has established that the oil belongs to all Iraqis,” the deal was immediately declared as a breakthrough by Kurdish leaders. Some Kurdish politicians even celebrated the deal as representing consent by Baghdad to Kurdish claims to Kirkuk and other disputed areas.

There are not enough details, however, to confirm whether or not the deal is a breakthrough. It is only a one-year agreement that will cover Iraq’s 2015 state budget and clearly states that exports will be made through SOMO’s facilities in Ceyhan in Turkey.

As expected, disagreements also soon emerged. Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said the Kurdish government will still be able to sell its oil after it delivers the amount of oil agreed on in the Baghdad agreement, according to remarks published by the Kurdish media outlet Rudaw.

Iraq’s oil ministry, however, denied this and insisted in a statement on Sunday that the government will consider further oil sales to be illegal. Some Iraqi lawmakers want the deal to be put up for debate in parliament, a proposal rejected by Kurdish MPs.

Moreover, the deal reignited resentment among Shias in the southern provinces, which produce the bulk of Iraq’s oil. They complain that their provinces are badly neglected even though they contribute a significant amount of oil wealth to the national coffers. Angry politicians in the southern city of Basra renewed calls to turn their province into an autonomous region.

There are also more controversies surrounding the deal. Some Iraqis have pointed to complacency by Shia political groups. Though the deal was endorsed by the government, it was negotiated by Minister of Oil Adel Abdel-Mehdi, whose Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) maintains close ties with the Kurdish leadership.

Before the US-led invasion, exiled SIIC leaders, including Abdel-Mehdi, worked side-by-side with the Kurdish parties in the opposition’s fight to topple the regime of former president Saddam Hussein.

Abdel-Mehdi had earlier reached an understanding with the KRG that allowed Erbil to receive an initial $500 million from Baghdad in return for its starting to pump oil to SOMO’s Ceyhan export terminal. That understanding has apparently opened the way for a new deal.

Facing these charges, the SIIC did not shy away from acknowledging the apparent complacency. “If the Kurds take 100,000 barrels of oil they have given us rule over Iraq,” SIIC spokesman Baligh Abu Galal told the Dijla television station.

“Without the Kurds, we [the Shias] could not have been empowered to rule Iraq. We are strong because we rule Iraq,” he said in a rare acknowledgment of the marriage of convenience that was part of the founding principles of post-US invasion Iraq.

The question that arises is not how the new deal was reached but why it happened now. Kurdistan has battled for years to secure exports of oil away from Baghdad’s supervision and has defied all efforts by the federal government to control the crude’s flow.

The KRG is already entangled in legal battles, including a court case in Texas filed by Baghdad to block Kurdish crude exports. In response, it has filed an appeal to overturn the Iraqi requests.

In June, following advances by the Islamic State (IS) terror group and its seizure of several Sunni-dominated cities in northern and western Iraq, Kurdish Peshmergas captured Kirkuk and territory bordering the Kurdish region, taking advantage of the collapse of the Iraqi security forces.

Kurdish officials vowed that they would never give the territories back to Baghdad, and Kurdistan Regional President Masoud Barzani called on the Kurdish parliament to prepare a referendum on independence.

Kurdistan has also been pushing the United States and other foreign countries to give the Peshmergas direct military aid, rather than having them receive the aid through Baghdad.

In October, the KRG unveiled plans to find funds through foreign loans against future oil revenues. It said the loans would offset financial difficulties created by the blocking of its budget by the Al-Maliki government. But the measure was also apparently intended to create independent Kurdish financial institutions.

All these measures show that the strategy being followed by the KRG is to justify its separation by showing that Iraq’s federal system is not working. Even after Baghdad and Erbil reached agreement on oil and the budget, KRG officials continued their defiant and provocative statements.

On Sunday, the speaker of the Kurdistan parliament, Youssef Mohammad Sidiq, told the Turkish Anatolia News Agency that the region will proceed with plans to hold a referendum on independence if “the Baghdad government fails to acknowledge the Kurds’ rights.”

Barzani’s deputy, Kusrat Rasoul, also said in remarks published Saturday, “Kurdistan’s flag will be flying over every inch of Kurdistan’s territory.” This was in apparent reference to the disputed territories seized by the Peshmergas.

One must look beyond the rhetoric in the fraught relations between Baghdad and Erbil in order to figure out if the Iraqi Kurds will keep their bid for independence on high gear, or if they will concede to bitter political and economic realities.

Contrary to the idea of a prosperous economy, as depicted in media-hyped images of Erbil’s construction cranes and new housing complexes, Kurdistan’s economy remains fragile.

With little industrial, agricultural, financial or communication infrastructure, landlocked Kurdistan remains highly dependent on its two ambitious neighbours, Iran and Turkey, for trade, investment and transport. The two countries are effectively financing everything in Kurdistan, from construction to oil installations, and clothing boutiques to food products.

Most villages in Kurdistan have no electricity or running water, and there are only a few paved roads. The unemployment rate is among the highest in the region and corruption and cronyism are rampant.

It goes without saying that shortages of finance will have devastating consequences on the region’s economy, which is already on hold because of the dispute with Baghdad. This is why the Kurdish leaders might now have found that going it alone isn’t any better, and maybe is even worse, than staying in Iraq.

While the plunge in the crude prices serves as a reminder of how geopolitically significant oil prices can be, there are other factors that must have influenced the Kurdish decision to agree to a deal with Baghdad that ends their independent export of oil.

A national homeland for the Kurds in Iraq has always been a nightmare for Iraq’s neighbours, with a potentially detrimental impact on regional stability. It could lead to the division of Iraq on ethno-sectarian lines and create a ripple effect throughout the region. If that happens, oil won’t save Kurdistan from a messy and even bloody Middle East.

By signing last week’s agreement, the Kurds must have realised that they will run high risks if they continue to give the independence option priority over tangible economic interests and regional stability. That could be reason enough for the KRG to look into a different scenario, at least for now.

Armenian recognized official language in Iraqi Kurdistan

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IRAQ VILLAGE REBIRTHArmenian is also recognized as an official language in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani has signed the language bill, pursuant to which Armenian, Assyrian, and Turkmen also will become official languages in the Kurdish autonomy, and in addition to Kurdish and Arabic, Rudaw.net reported.

Kurdistan Parliament spokesperson Tariq Jawhar told the website that the parliament had passed this bill on October 29, and on November 20, it was submitted for Barzani’s approval.

Jawhar stressed that, pursuant to the new law, Armenian, Assyrian, and Turkmen will become official languages in the Iraqi Kurdistan regions where Armenians, Assyrians, and Turkmens live.

Suicide car bombing kills four in Iraq Kurdish capital

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ARBIL – Agence France-Presse

n_74536_1Iraqi security forces stand at the site where a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital Arbil on November 19, 2014, killing four people. AFP Photo

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in the heart of the usually secure Iraqi Kurdish regional capital Arbil on Wednesday, killing four people, officials said.

The bomber hit the main checkpoint on the way to the provincial government headquarters in the northern city just before noon (0900 GMT), provincial council spokesman Hamza Hamed said.

The attack killed four people, two of them police, and wounded 29, Saman Barzanchi, the director general of the Arbil health department, told AFP.

A crowd of onlookers gathered at the site of the blast, which broke car windows, scarred vehicles with shrapnel and left glass and debris scattered across the blood-stained street.

The bombing is the worst attack to hit Arbil since September 29, 2013, when militants struck the headquarters of the asayesh security forces in the city, killing seven people and wounding more than 60.

In that attack, the asayesh said a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the entrance to their headquarters, after which they killed four more would-be bombers before a fifth blew up an ambulance rigged with explosives.

“When you are visiting Arbil, there is absolutely no sense of danger,” said Bruno Retailleau, a French senator who was at the Arbil provincial headquarters minutes before the blast.

“Retroactively, it’s chilling,” Retailleau, who was heading a delegation that delivered 10 tonnes of aid for displaced Iraqis, told AFP.

Iraq’s three-province autonomous Kurdish region is generally spared the rampant violence plaguing other parts of the country.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Wednesday attack, which rocked a usually crowded area close to the city’s main landmark, the UNESCO-listed Arbil citadel.

But suicide bombings are usually carried out by Sunni extremists in Iraq, including a series of blasts claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group in recent weeks.

Kurdish security forces are battling IS, which spearheaded an offensive that has overrun large areas of Iraq since June, making it a more prominent target for militants.

The initial jihadist onslaught swept federal security forces aside in the north, allowing the Kurds to take control of a swathe of disputed territory that they want to incorporate into their autonomous region over Baghdad’s objections.

But IS turned its attention to the north again in August, launching a renewed drive that pushed Kurdish forces back towards Arbil, helping to spark a US-led campaign of air strikes that has since been expanded to Syria.

Backed by the strikes, Kurdish troops have managed to regain some areas seized by IS, as have federal forces backed by pro-government fighters.

But significant territory, including three major cities, remain in the hands of the militants.

November/19/2014

Humanitarian bus for the Iraqi Kurdistan with Elise Boghossian * (1)

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arton105405-480x384It’s always disturbing to come back here and back into this universe. Through customs at the airport with its billboards phone or Dior, waiting for his bag among some European clusters, journalists and oil investors, leaving the major luxury hotels in the city and roll over tens of kilometers in large plains, to find the most remote camps, the refugees themselves with the same clothes, shaved or long hair, the time seems to have stopped them. Even the recycling center where the Yazidis live has not changed, the gates acting bed with crows and staging, it’s almost beautiful, as if an artist had put his leg at work. The same decor, the same newspaper, the same abandonment.

Viyan picked me up at the airport. He is Kurdish, pharmacist and founder of the Kurdistan Medical Charity Foundation. Dilnaz my friend’s daughter, the princess, had introduced me as a man of the field very reliable, dedicated. The grandfather Viyan was tortured to death by Turkish Armenians because it housed in 1915 in Turkey. His father then escaped to Baghdad, it was a very close family friend of the princess. Viyan was educated in Ukraine, and he puts his time, his energy, his entire life to serving refugees, whatever their origin, their religion, their language, whether Syrian, the Yazidis, Christians, refugees Salaheddin, Ramadi, Falluja, the Sunni, the Shabak and persimmons. Two hundred volunteer doctors and nurses working with him. We had a few exchanges before my arrival in September, our collaboration with patients was successful and we are pleased at the prospect of continuing to work together.

Compared to last summer where NGOs were not present, we feel a desire to put in place a real organization. Public gardens Erbil have been emptied. The night is too cold, and the recent massive influx of refugees from Kirkuk and Kobané have resulted in the opening of old plants, the development of caves or abandoned malls. UN trying to unite all the humanitarian organizations and UNHCR provides each family kits of blankets and clothing, water, diapers and food. In tents, each family maintains its space. The shoes remain at the entrance and walk in socks on the tarp placed on the ground, the picture of the Virgin Mary with a rosary hanging on the foot screws of the bulb, the teapot is always ready on the small stove land mattresses are stacked with folded blankets near a wooden crate containing rice, eggplant and tomatoes, the richest have a radio. At the entrance of these buildings with between 400 and 1500 individuals, one or two prefabricated possible to register new arrivals, and Kurdish and foreign volunteers meet the physical necessities. According to the religion of refugees, we can also meet a priest, imam, etc. The authorities are trying to poach doctors from hospitals in the city, themselves also clogged. So some care is provided, particularly among the elderly and children. For the rest, we must wait …

In the surrounding plains and neighboring villages is even worse. Near déchèteries or herds of black sheep camps are secured by barbed wire and peshmergues. Epidemics heat last summer resulted in many deaths, and the image of the camps, cemeteries are overloaded. Tractors return the land around the camps to enlarge because it took hundreds of host families that arrived last week. Simply in the province of Duhok, 3 hours drive north of Erbil, there 17 camps for 850,000 residents, it leaves an idea of ​​the percentage of care actually charged and the number of refugees in all three provinces Kurdistan. With their fifty seats, tents furnished by UNICEF are trying to avoid breaking the school with children. But the despair of these families as children themselves already seem old. Sometimes we see them play, improvising games balls from mud and making holes in the ground. Teenagers carry water, offer waxing your shoes, beg you to give them work. From Mosul, Baghdad, Aleppo … parents are teachers, architects, shoemakers, restorers of objects of art, cooks. We read in their eyes the shame of becoming a beggar overnight.

There is an explosion of pregnancies in the camps, “attacks like everywhere, people have nothing to do,” is the refrain yes, but in the camps is different. When you’ve lost everything, you’re reduced to a beast waiting as time passes, or that life stops, desperation sometimes leads to the worst crimes. In these times, it used to have something like poetry. In the back of this scene, you find yourself in Baudelaire, and these pretty girls rounded belly are living proof; they age laugh, live their first carnal pleasures or to spend their time on the benches of our universities, but their faces are frozen. The only medical camp cabin has a small refrigerator lock with some antibiotics, gynecological gloves, some pads contraceptive pills and condoms, the valve does not work, dirt and dust are such that you wonder resistant infections .

On the truck, we validated purchase at Le Mans last week and had to be put in place to enter the territory permissions. By Patrick Jouan who worked at the RATP, we chose a model 8m long with 4 cabins + convertible infirmary care and pharmacy. It’s little, but it’s a start … I think I was a little, even very stressed at the idea that the truck is stopped at the exit of the boat in Turkey, or before entering the territory Kurdish. And two jokers carried me and continue to bring me luck: Consul General Frederic Tissot and Princess.

Official appointments were held with the Governor of Duhok, the adviser to the Prime Minister Barzani, the Ministry of Health. I could enter the “passport” of the truck, and it will have a number plate on the way to the Kurdish territory. We Viyan registered on the registration and pass as owner of the truck. The truck will take the boat these days in Marseille to Mersin, and an official team will go retrieve it off the boat in Turkey. All development work, installation of water and its disposal, electricity, insulation, air conditioning, heating, stretchers, cabinets … will ultimately be made here. In France, the waiting times were too long for companies who manage ambulances to wait six months to install our clinic standards. And costs ranged around 20,000 euros. With Azad who runs a manufacturing plant, we have a team of professionals operating framed by an architect who works with the state. It has already drawn up plans gracefully. Our ten workers are refugees: Syrians, Kurds, Yezidis, Christians, and they are so happy to contribute in exchange for some treatments and medications that some even offered to work for free. And the final price in comparison to Paris, we will not exceed the $ 8,000 all inclusive. I also expect the price of the boat, customs before returning to Kurdistan, many details, so many details to create a small hospital of 20m2.

Gynaecology Without Borders offers the installation of a cabin with a gynecological examination table, delivery sets and technical equipment. With UMAF we will also have to supply some medicines pharmacy.

It was also necessary to meet the staff ready to work every day for four months. Staff will be employed. We recruited a Kurdish driver, a Syrian worker, nurse Aleppo. Three full-time doctors will join the team: a gynecologist, a general practitioner and my dear Abdelkarim with which our paths crossed for the 3rd time!

Abdelkarim is a native of Dara who worked in the Jordanian Syrian refugee camps in 2013, I often croisais when I was with the Moroccan military Zaatari. It is a plump sixty years man, with an ocean of sweetness and sadness in his eyes, and as a physician would like to have for our children. He treats so many children with listening, attention and professionalism unique. And last September, chance that I came across him in a Yezidi sanctuary Lalesh installing my acupuncture consultation. He was sheltered under the trees, it was 50 degrees that day, and dozens of families were clustered around him. It was great to see a familiar face in a sacred place, a refuge against Daech. And yesterday in Erbil, we still came face to face with the Department of Health! Not having a valid passport, he went on his own to Kobané treat children, and he returned to Kurdistan illegally. In fact, the authorities have stuck him a warning and he has the right to practice without a contract. And we were overjoyed with Viyan when he agreed to work in our mobile clinic.

It is in times like these: warm smile Duhok Governor ready to open its doors, the knowing look of Abdelkarim, discreet kindness of the princess, Viyan solidarity and warmth of its people, support Henri-Jean gynecology, UMAF for drugs, Mylène and its decisive role in helloasso, Azad to isolate the clinic, Rene and Simon for parliamentary reserve Olivier for his confidence, Fabienne for his support for the most hours later, Patrick for his collaboration, Rachel, Valerie, Xavier Benedict, for his hands … Laurence, which clings to the hope that everything is still possible, even at the scale of an ant. At night, close your eyes the quiet heart, because each in its own way, brings beauty to the world.

Elise Boghossian

* Organic Express

• 2001: Mission to the casualties of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh • 2002: creation of the humanitarian association Shennong & Avicenna • 2011 defended his thesis in Chinese medicine in Nanjing • 2013: Missions to Syrian refugees • 2014: September , contact mission in Iraq Yezidis and Christians refugees in November, back in Iraq for a humanitarian project bus.

With the purchase of a bus and planning clinic in the Shennong & Avicenna association can provide emergency care for the management of pain and Yezidi Christian refugees in Iraq. A goal painkiller 7000 consultations by spring 2015. To help finance the project:
www.helloasso.com/associations/shennong-avicenne/collectes/aidez-nous-a-la-creation-d-un-dispensaire-mobile-anti-douleur

Jihadists control all exits from Mount Shingal (Yazidi), says Peshmerga official

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Islamic State fight72535Image1ers.

By Nasir Ali

SHINGAL MOUNTAIN— Militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) are now in control of virtually all the roads leading to the Shingal Mountain where thousands of Yazidi refugees are still encircled, a Peshmerga commander told Rudaw.

“The IS overran three Syrian Kurdish villages last week which were functioning as the only exit routes from the Shingal Mountain into Syrian Kurdistan,” General Ashti Kochar of the Peshmerga forces told Rudaw in a phone interview from the besieged mountain.

“The only way in and out of here is from the air,” the general said, explaining that they had asked the Iraqi air force to drop humanitarian aid on the mountain from now on.

The Kurdish general said nearly 10,000 people were still on the mountain and as the winter approaches they were “in desperate need of blankets and tents.”

An official with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) told Rudaw that his team had prepared more than 10,000 blankets and mattresses to be shipped to the encircled refugees on the mountain.

“We have so far continually delivered aid to the refugees on the mountain, but with all the roads blocked by the Da’esh [ISIS] now, we have to hope that the air transport will go smoothly,” said Nouri Usman, who leads the KRG’s special team established to assist Yazidi refugees.

Rudaw has learned that apart from the Yazidi refugees on the mountain, Syrian Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and guerillas from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), are alongside the KRG’s Peshmerga forces on the beleaguered mountain, which was the focus of an international humanitarian effort in early days of August.

Local Yazidi farmers who have lived with their livestock on the Shingal Mountain have refused to abandon their villages and move to safer areas despite warnings by Kurdish officials.

“This is where we have lived for ages and we would rather die here in dignity than flee,” said Hatte Mito, a 60 year-old Yazidi woman referring to her village of Kochare located on the foothill of the mountain where major battles took place in August as Yazidi and Kurdish fighters successfully repelled Islamic State’s repeated onslaughts.

“We are doing our best to help our Yazidi defenders,” said Hawla Piso, 35, wearing a traditional Yazidi outfit. Piso said she made between 150 and 200 pieces of bread which were then sent to the Yazidi fighters in the frontlines.

General Kochar told Rudaw that the KRG had prepared nearly 100 tons of food, tents and other necessities which he promised would be delivered to the refugees despite the blockade.

“On the direct orders of Prime Minister [Nechirvan] Barzani, we will also airlift anyone who needs acute medical help to Dohuk,” the general said.

Senior Kurdistan Official: IS Was at Erbil’s Gates; Turkey Did Not Help (Interview)

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(Why Barzani  Allow Turkey to have Military base with about 3000 Turkish soldiers in Kurdistan city of Duhok)???  ask gagrule.net

By HEVIDAR AHMED  RUDAW

Fuad Hussein: “The IS has its own map, which spans from India to Europe.”

Fuad-HusseinIn an important interview Fuad Hussein, chief of staff to the Kurdistan Region presidency, revealed just how dangerously close the Islamic State (IS) armies came to overrunning Erbil in attacks last month. He said that the United States “played in important role” with airstrikes, and that Washington’s swift response was key to winning global support in the war against the group formerly known as ISIS.  In this interview with Rudaw that offers rare insights into the war and behind-the-scenes workings of developments, Hussein expressed Erbil’s huge dissatisfaction at Turkey for offering words at a time of imminent danger when the Kurds needed more.   “Turkey consistently reiterated that if the security of the Kurdistan Region is threatened they would intervene. Well, our security was under threat, but still we did not receive any support from Turkey,” Hussein said. Here is an edited transcript of his interview:

Rudaw: What roles are different countries playing in the assistance given to the Kurdistan Region, such as the United States, France and others?

Fuad Hussein: The US is leading the international community, and had it not been for the US’s swift support for the Kurdistan Region, we might not have received such a level of backing from the international community. The US was quick to support us. Then, Europe supported us and that was due to France’s efforts. The role of France is very important and the US and European countries are coordinating together in supporting Kurdistan.

Rudaw: It is believed that, had it not been for US airstrikes, IS militants would have entered Erbil.

Fuad Hussein: This is a military assessment. But in reality they reached Makhmour, Gwer and Khazir, which are the entry points to Erbil. In fact, when they reached Gwer they were not that far from Erbil International Airport. Therefore, it is fair to say that the US played an important role and inflicted huge damages upon IS. IS did not only wage a military war. They were also inciting fear among people through social media by beheading people, which led to some people fleeing their cities. It was a huge problem.

Rudaw: The night that the IS entered Makhmour, Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani was on the telephone with Washington. How was the US persuaded to attack the IS?

Fuad Hussein: There were lots of phone calls to Washington on the night of August 6. The phone calls were a preparation for the call between Barzani and US Vice President Joe Biden. That was arranged, and Barzani clearly explained the situation, saying that the IS was using advanced military weapons and their fight was different from conventional fighting. After the authorization of airstrikes, President Barack Obama delivered a speech to the American public. President Barzani was informed of the content of the speech before President Obama delivered it. Following the speech, the US started attacking IS militants on August 8.  The first US attack was an airstrike on an armored artillery that could hit targets as far as 30 kilometers. It was an American armored artillery that was taken by the IS from the Iraqi army.

Rudaw: Why did the IS attack Kurdistan?

Fuad Hussein: The IS was interested in Shingal and Tel Afar because of their geographic locations and religious and ethnic issues. The IS has its own map, which spans from India to Europe. In their map, Saudi Arabia is called Hijaz, Ethiopia is named Habasha and Spain is known as Andalus. They intend to take all these areas. They were interested in Kurdistan because of its oil and mountains. It would have been very dangerous if they had reached the mountains of Kurdistan. But I don’t know why they attacked Kurdistan. You should ask them, because we don’t know what is going on in their heads. What is clear is that their ideology is different from that of the Kurds, and they consider the Kurds infidels.

Rudaw: Does Kurdistan have any direct or indirect dialogue with IS?

Fuad Hussein: The IS is the enemy of the Kurds and Kurdistan. In the past we used to negotiate with different Iraqi governments (despite our war with Baghdad) after a period of fighting. But the IS is against humanity; how can we build ties with them?

Rudaw: There are several American oil companies in Kurdistan. Is it true that they had a role in mobilizing American support for Kurdistan?

Fuad Hussein: No, they did not do anything. It is true that before the war the oil companies had lobbied for US support for Kurdistan’s oil policy, for the betterment of ties between Washington and Erbil and to put pressure on former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. But for this war, no company intervened.

Rudaw: Have you called for an American force to be based in Kurdistan?

Fuad Hussein: In reality, when America withdrew its forces from Iraq Maliki told the whole world that the security of Iraq was under control. But it was not true. President Barzani had warned about the withdrawal of American forces. We saw that after the withdrawal of US forces the security situation in Iraq got worse over time, until it reached the current situation. Iraq needs America’s support in fighting terrorism. Kurdistan is part of Iraq and Baghdad should accept such a demand.

Rudaw: Were the US airstrikes for the sake of Iraq or the Kurdistan Region?

Fuad Hussein: The Syria crisis started three years ago and all Arab countries, Gulf States and Turkey called for US intervention. But the US didn’t do that. IS reached Baghdad, Mosul, Anbar, Diyala and Tikrit, and nothing happened. But as soon as they changed the direction of their attacks to Kurdistan, the international community came forward in support of Kurdistan. Historians should record this and people should carefully analyze that the US did not let IS advance into Kurdistan. Barzani has built an extensive network of relations with the international community and we have seen its results. The decision of the West and the US is not only the decision of their governments, but also the decision of the public. The American and European nations were in favor of protecting the Kurds. This is the first time that Germany decides on military support for a region that is at war. Therefore, the policy of the Kurds is not only engaged with the governments of those states but also with their people.

Rudaw: Kurdistan considered Turkey as its closest ally, but Turkey has not assisted Kurdistan in this fight. Why?

Fuad Hussein: We were in a very tough situation. In a tough situation even a glass of water matters. But when you are offered a glass of water when not thirsty it is not bad, but not effective. We were in need of help in the beginning. The US, France and Europe came to our rescue but our neighbor refused to do so, even after we asked for help.

Rudaw: What was Turkey’s response?

Fuad Hussein: They did not say they would not help. They said they would do so after Turkey’s presidential election. But we were in a very difficult situation. We had no choice but to wait until after the elections, yet they have not helped us. Turkey did not meet our expectation.

Rudaw: Are you upset with Turkey?

Fuad Hussein: There are extensive economic, trade and political ties between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region. If you analyze the extent of our relations with Turkey you would assume that Turkey would be heavily involved in this issue. Turkey consistently reiterated that if the security of the Kurdistan Region is threatened they would intervene. Well, our security was under threat, but still we did not receive any support from Turkey.

Rudaw: Would this situation cause a reassessment of relations with Turkey?

Fuad Hussein: It is in Turkey’s benefit to continue energy cooperation with Kurdistan. The US announced that it would protect Kurdistan to preserve its interests. Turkey says it has 49 of its diplomats taken hostage by IS. But Turkey has a consulate in Erbil, and what would happen had IS taken Erbil? Thousands of Turkey’s workers are working in Erbil and the Kurdistan Region. What about them? Does Turkey want to save the 49 diplomats at the expense of thousands of Turks in Kurdistan?

Rudaw: Have you decided to reassess your ties with Turkey?

Fuad Hussein: We have to be very clear with Turkey. How can we have such relations? It is in the benefit of Turkey to stand against the IS. The IS is not a friend to any country. Turkey, at least, could help us through some of its military bases in Duhok.

Rudaw: Turkey is worried that some of the weapons offered to Kurdistan might fall into the hands of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Can you guarantee this will not happen?

Fuad Hussein: The government, parliament, and the presidency of the Kurdistan Region receive the weapons and it is sent to the battlefields. The PKK does not rule Kurdistan. It is ironic that they make such a demand. This is the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. If true, then the economy and politics of Kurdistan are run by the PKK. Turkey should come forward. Then we can talk.

Rudaw: Is President Barzani upset about this?

Fuad Hussein: Barzani is the president of the Kurdistan Region. Every single Kurd is upset with Turkey’s position. How would President Barzani not be upset about it? We are upset, because they did not help us when we needed them.

Rudaw: What is the difference between Maliki and Haider al-Abadi?

Fuad Hussein: Every individual is different, but they are from the same school of thought and political party. Personality matters and our role in Baghdad to work as a team matters as well —  because we did not have a team in Baghdad. Abadi contacted President Barzani before and after his appointment as prime minister and announced his intention to cooperate and work together.

US jets roar over Kurdish Peshmerga, ISIS terrorist battlefield

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CNN | KPLCTV 

September 17, 2014

state8500HASAN SHAM, Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’,— Airstrikes are proving critical in helping Kurdish Peshmerga forces take back territory from ISIS.
Intense battles took place on Tuesday between Erbil and Mosul in northern Iraq.
As the first rays of sunlight streamed through the clouds, the roar of U.S. fighter jets could be heard right across these desolate plains.
The roar was the signal for the Peshmerga to launch their new offensive against ISIS.
The mission: To reclaim the township of Hasan Sham and the surrounding area which includes a strategic bridge, blown up by ISIS a month ago.
The bridge connects the highway running from Erbil, Kurdistan’s capital to the city of Mosul, an ISIS stronghold just 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) away.

For more than an hour two U.S. fighter jets have been circling, launching airstrikes on enemy targets. Also providing that critical cover for these ground forces to advance toward the bridge.
For the man in charge of these troops and this operation, Dr. Roj Nuri Shawys, he is the one communicating and coordinating with the Americans, advising them on ISIS targets.
When asked what he is wanting the pilots to hit, he has a definite answer.

“To hit hummers or positions where they are fighting very strongly, difficult for the Peshmerga to get in,” he said.

And so far the partnership is working well although the Kurdish forces have made no secret of the fact they would like to see an intensification of the U.S. air campaign.

After hours of strikes, artillery and mortar attacks, the horizon was filled with columns of rising black smoke.

  But some ISIS militants refused to retreat, one packing an oil tanker with explosives and driving it toward the Peshmerga front line.

Luckily it was taken out with an RPG, or rocket-propelled grenade, resulting in this explosion.

By late in the day, the Peshmerga had suffered at least half a dozen deaths but they had taken back control of the bridge.

As of Tuesday morning, there was an ISIS frontline but after an intensive ground operation by the Peshmerga they have managed to clear out Hasan Sham and the surrounding

villages of militants. The focus now is a highway, which runs all the way to Mosul and an operation is underway to slowly and carefully remove what the Peshmerga describe as barrels filled with explosives and IEDs laid alongside the road.

As the engineering unit began detonating the explosives, soldiers showed some ISIS handiwork.

ISIS is laying on the side of the road a primitive pressure plate. If you stand on it, it will set off an explosive.

A deadly device that will no doubt litter the road all the way to Mosul, a future battle the Kurdish forces know won’t be easily won.

 

Video Kurdistan thousands of Stranded Civilians Rescued on Mount Shingal

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Report by Hevidar Ahmad RUDAW

rescueZAKHO, Kurdistan Region—Local officials said today that 10,000 Yezidis who were stranded on Mount Shingal for one week were rescued and settled in the town of Zakho.

Medical teams and aid organizations in Zakho have rushed in to assist the rescued families, said Rudaw reporter.

Ashti Kocher, Zakho’s security chief said that Kurdish armed forces have opened a safe corridor for the Yezidis at Mount Shingal.

“We have also cleared about 30 kilometers of the ISIL forces in order to open a road for those families,” said Kocher, who currently leads a Peshmerga unit at Sinune village near Shingal.

Kocher said that the rescued civilians were transported to the Kurdistan Region through Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan) which is under the control of Kurdish forces known as the Peoples Protection Units (YPG).

Barakat Issa, Rudaw reporter on Mount Shingal said that the number of Yezidis stranded on the mountain is higher than initially reported. He said that nearly 100,000 people are hiding on the mountain.

Issa said that in the past few days 60 children and elderly have said of hunger and thirst while there is fear that Islamic militants controlling the town of Shingal and other villages have massacred hundreds of others.

Ferhad Hamo, Rudaw reporter in the town of Derik in Rojava said that around 15,000 rescued Yezidis had arrived at Newroz camp in Rojava.

 

Source: RUDAW

150 Kurdish Peshmerga forces killed, 500 injured in battle with ISIL according to KRG

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IRAQ-KURDS/

Erbil (IraqiNews.com) On Friday the Chief of Staff to the President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Dr. Fuad Hussein, said that 150 Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers were killed and 500 were wounded in battles with the terrorist organization the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL.

Dr. Hussein said in a joint press conference in Erbil, with Iraq’s Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, attended by IraqiNews.com that “Peshmerga forces provided 150 martyrs during the battles fought by the organization with Daash (also known as ISIL)” and added that “the number of the wounded from the Peshmerga during those battles reached 500.”

Hussein added that Kurdish “Peshmerga forces are currently battling ISIL but there is a disparity in weapons used,” explaining that “ISIL used tanks and artillery, which it acquired from Iraqi forces.”