I had an Iraqi teacher from Mosul whose husband was Kurdish. And he had a storyteller’s heart. He would get us rolling at his description of Kurdistan. So entranced were we, that we could not help but to clumsily understand him. And if we struggled with his Iraqi dialect, we could gist it from his wild gestures.
He would volunteer one of us (usually me, grrrr, for some reason) to be his punching bag. Then, he would place me into his stories which he struggled to keep family-friendly. But as young, resourceful Sailors, we had already come up with a slang dictionary of our own. So when he wrestled with the term used to described a girl of a certain type, we were quick to offer him زبالة في صندوق- which we had gisted as funk-in-the-trunk and which may not translate so directly. But usteth (our teacher) knew where we were coming from and thanked us for the colorful direct translation.
When he spoke to us in Kurdish, it sounded like Arabic and Russian. Exotic and vaguely eastern. I could understand his Iraqi, which sounded like Arabic with a Polish influence. (There is even an -itch ending for the Iraqi feminine. Does that not sound Polish?) But his Kurdish was alien to me. (Kurdish is an Indo-European language, while Arabic is Semitic.)
I have a special respect for Kurds due to my dealings with usteth and others from his Kurdish family, roughly numbering 32 million people. And I’m not alone, the New York Times foresees an independent Kurdistan in the future:
An Independent Kurdistan
To Iran’s west, Iraq remains on the brink as American forces withdraw and the political center in Baghdad remains fragile. As Syria descends into civil war, the entire post- World War I map of the Middle East may need to be redrawn. Rarely in the Kurds’ 3,000-year history has the possibility of an independent Kurdish homeland been closer than today. The Kurdistan Regional Government of northern Iraq is by far the country’s most stable sector, flying its own flag and cutting energy and infrastructure deals on its own with Exxon and Turkish firms.
I forget the latest US position on Kurdistan, but my personal belief is that it is long overdue.
Update: As I note in the comments, I am not advocating nation-building. But we should support their self-dertermination should it appear. Walter Russell Mead has an interesting look at the big Kurdistan picture. . .
The Kurds encompass an area even larger than you describe…from sources of my own, I understand they reside in many countries that constitute a large part of the Middle East, regardless of borders…within Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the many people who live there are many Kurds, descendants of the population of the Persian Empire which at one time stretched from Asia, Africa and Europe http://www.biblestudy.org/maps/persian-empire-at-its-height.html…it isn’t a history I’ve studied myself, but it remains an area of information and culture even today that provides interesting insights…..k
Dear people; having enjoyed an absolutely cracking day yesterday walking on hallowed ground, (The East Yorkshire Moors ‘my’ temple of non religious
meditation). I awoke this morning with calves the size of knotted manilla rope; with the wind burnt look of the wild man of Borneo. However (I thought); my mind is cleansed and supercharged ready for the coming week.
And then I read NavyOne’s inclusion and was reminded of Kurdistan.
A melting pot yet to fracture through the interference of the Western world.
(Read back on Afghanistan from 50 years ago, and weep).
Contemporary use of Kurdistan refers to parts of; eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northwest Iran, and north Syria, inhabited mainly by Kurds. The area is a natural ‘buffer’ zone separating the same countries. (Also referred to as ‘waste ground cleared by donkeys’).
Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges, and covers small portions of Armenia, the climate and terrain is very similar to Afghanistan (I sense an Islamic/Christian problem occurring here in the not too distant future)?
Kurdistan has gas, oil, AU metal and precious minerals that has not yet been exploited. Being land locked it is disputable which of the four countries it would ally itself with to allow movement of such resources.
After the ‘fall’ of Iraq Kurdistan gained strength in its fight for recognition as an independent country (it remains locked in talks with the UN, but it whispers when it speaks independence). Who ever has influence on any country that borders with the area known as Kurdistan, will certainly benefit from its hidden wealth?
It will also bring a form of civil war, just as night follows day.
The Peshmerga [Meaning; those who face death] Kurdistan’s armed fighting militia number approximately 350 thousand. Each separate political group has their own ‘Peshmerga’ fighters; they are also tribally split through their different forms of Islamic religion. All of their weaponry and tactics is Ex Soviet. They also suffer with in house terrorism.
Without going any further into the past, the now, the future; I would ask you this one question
Do you want your children/grandchildren to fight in yet another worthless (Afghan type) war that will probably last fifteen years?
My answer is no (I do have a say as it will mean the UK armed forces standing shoulder to shoulder).
I am now sitting on my hands (biting my tongue) to avoid typing/speaking my mind further as this area of Kurdistan will bring nothing but pain and misery for those following in our footsteps.
Politicians ARE watching; certain Government ‘associations’ ARE intruding into Kurdistan, having learned nothing from Afghanistan.
History could well repeat itself.
It requires some one in the right quarter to shine a very bright powerful lamp into the corridors of power, NOW before it is too late?
Time for a cup of tea…
Yours Aye
Ex Bootneck
I understand what you’re saying, Ex Bootneck…but in all cases, doesn’t it require the will to win? When you lose your faith, or belief in your cause, what’s left??? Especially when you wax philosophical in the arena of conflict? The American people don’t seem to have the knowledge necessary to understand that this upcoming global conflict (I suspect strongly, it will the WWIII) will involve a fight to the death of religious faiths (or should I say an evil cult (Islam) and the dual forces/faiths of the Judeo-Christian West and our civilization)….and I am of the opinion Islam can hardly be considered a religion (and most decidedly not one of ‘peace’ as some so wrongly credit it) as it stands and has for fourteen hundred years…with hundreds of sects to its credit and Sunni and Shi’a the predominant strains of the evil cultism resulting in terrorist jihadi attacks on anything that isn’t them, engendering fear and dhimmitude….also do not forget, this is also a political ideology much in the same arena as National Socialism was (Nazi Germany being the primary arbiter of that particular cult and it also supported Muslim outreach and aligned itself specifically with Middle Eastern Muslims)…
You speak of fighting another worthless Afghan war…what happens Ex Bootneck, when we have no choice ? When the choices these Islamic Fascists give us is either submit or die?…It appears to me this sort of choice is starting to occur in Europe and Europe isn’t faring that well from what I’ve seen…please advise and admonish me if I remain in the dark and incorrectly assess the circumstances…when you lose your faith, again, what fills the vacuum? It seems to me there is a tremendous amount of bowing and scraping over in Europe to the tune of political correctness and multiculturalism…and don’t forget moral equivalency which seems to have replaced Judeo-Christian values, faith and belief…I don’t believe the people there are happy about turning over their country to Islamic radicals or immigrants who have taken over…
Please advise as to your thinking on the subject….I push forward to the treadmill dance…and not the Carolina Shag…k
Kristen
In a nutshell.
I am of the opinion that there should be one almighty ‘holy war’ to settle for once and all the problems we face from within. Once we have cleansed our internal problems we can then work outwards and settle it on the international stage.
I admire your fortitude regarding your choice of exercise; being out of breath through your treadmill beats the same through using cigarettes!
Your Aye
What is your suggestion for America? The same? We have a current White House occupant who seems to believe incorrectly, I might add, that Islam is the be-all and end-all and we have seen since 9-11 a push for all the mosques in the world approaching at least 2000 of them to punctuate the American landscape when the equivalent numbers of Muslim faithful aren’t even here in attendance…they don’t have the numbers to fill these monstrosities and yet all we hear is CAIR, ISNA and NIAC complaining, the Muslim Brotherhood, among others…not to mention the ACLU…
And I know there are some who come to this blog in the military now who are being told that Islam and Muslims are peaceful…now that’s a lie that doesn’t stand very close scrutiny…and we have a lot to take care of before all is said and done …but the current US government just got their leftist ideology and head handed back to them over the last few weeks…at the tragic loss of four Americans…that is what really happened despite these so-called experts (must be our academics and their own ignorant arrogance) plus their own inability to admit it…
The other topic…I was smoker for many years until a few years ago just prior to my mother departing this mortal coil about a month before in fact, when I came to the conclusion that smoking was a rather nasty tasting habit; I justifiably concluded it was a better choice to quit while I had the chance and of course, I did…strangely enough, I don’t miss it….I still feel like I never did, quit that is, despite all evidence to the contrary…I stopped on my birthday just over three years ago and chose that time so I would easily remember it….and the exercising was suggested when my roommate picked up a treadmill….I eventually broke it or that’s what he tells me (it must have been on its last legs anyway) and found another on Craig’s List ….I also found a china hutch and a dining room set from the same place….unbelievable prices…people almost giving things away….anyway…I’ve come to this conclusion that walking and I will ever be constant companions and I do this little jaunt for three miles almost every day….one and one-half miles twice a day and it has improved my circulation…what else can you do when you like to eat and lift a glass or two??? Ever the perennial question….k
Kristen
You deserve the right to raise a glass or two, its one of the reasons we were given two arms!
My friend gave up smoking last year (after a habit of 30 a day, for 25 years). He now has a new lease on life, as well as money in the bank that he normally burned… (£85- or the equivalent of $138- a week)?
I do not attack or condone smoking as I believe it is a personal choice, obviously mine was never to start. I take my hat off to you for kicking the habit as I do understand how difficult it must have been.
Yours Aye
Actually, surprisingly enough, it wasn’t…maybe the first six months or so but I performed a little trick on myself…when I first started thinking along those lines I thought of a way I could stop myself from smoking and concentrated on what it tasted like especially in the morning…and I imagine you may have smelled an ashtray of cigarette butts after they’ve been smoked…well, it is a foul odor and more than just a tad distasteful…in any event, that’s what I thought of during this entire process…I knew if I approached it from how horrible the aroma of it was after the cigarettes had been smoked and transferred that to my taste buds…it was truly terrible and now I understood how disgusting a habit it was…but I had to work myself up to it and psych myself into it…as the months progressed and I was still smoking, the taste became more wretched and horrible; and so the day I quit was on my birthday about three years ago… and once you get out of the habit, it’s pretty well clear sailing….k
Hmm, quite a cordial conversation. I am not in any way advocating for establishing an independent Kurdistan. But should it come about, I would not object. Yes, Kurds can and are jihadis (Saladin was Kurdish), but still.
I absolutely loved this,Navy.
The Kurds were our only real ally in Iraq, they begged us to put bases there, and thanks to a long time clandestine IDF training, the Persh Merga was a competent fighting force…every time an al-Qaeda jihadi appeared in their territory they killed him.
If we had sponsored an independent Kurdistan that included Kirkuk, we would have had a loyal ally in the region who would have helped defend against Iran and who had their own oil. Instead, we sold them out to appease the Turks.
The biggest new development towards an independent Kurdistan is the current Syrian civil war. The Kurds in Northeastern Syria who live adjacent to Iraqi Kurdistan have no use either for the Muslim Brotherhood rebels or the Assad regime. Even if the rebels overthrow Assad, unless they make an arrangement with Syria’s Kurds for autonomy, which is doubtful, the Kurds will likely seek to make a de facto merger with their fellow Kurds just over the border.
Regards,
Rob
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