Kurds regain international clout, but must not get complacent

Mike Pence, vice president of the United States, visited Erbil on Saturday but chose to avoid Baghdad. His decision to skip the protest-gripped Iraqi capital in favor of the Kurdistan Region has triggered controversy among officials and the publics of Kurdistan, Iraq, and the wider region.

One goal of the Erbil visit, as summarized in comments by one high-ranking US official to the Associated Press, was to reassure America's Kurdish allies in the anti-Islamic State (ISIS) coalition and those Americans who have been supporting the Kurdish issue for a long time now.

Another reason for the visit is America's discomfort with the situation unfolding in Iraq and how the country is governed.

The VP's message, as conveyed to Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi over the phone, contained more demands than words of support. Pence's message for the Kurds, meanwhile, was the complete opposite.

America poured blood and money into its Iraq project, yet the country has been an abject failure, becoming the breeding ground for the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world.

Baghdad's failed model of governance, its shambolic economy, and deep insecurity discouraged western and American firms from investing. As a result, Iraq did not develop into a political partner of America and the West.

To protect themselves from slaughter and repression by regional states, Kurds have reached out to allies further afield. Although the Kurds are regularly branded stooges for their relationship with the West, one must ask why they feel compelled to reach out to foreigners to protect them.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, Saddam Hussein destroyed 4,000 villages – including their mosques. With the protection and support of Western countries, many of those villages and mosques have now been rebuilt.

Those that remain in ruin are the result of a failure of peaceful coexistence and the failure to reach a political solution to the Kurdish question.

Over the past three years, through a joint strategy, there have been various schemes to shatter the position of Kurds. Demographic change targeting Kurds began in a bid to end Kurdish authority and change the identity and demography of Kurdish areas.

The strategy has harmed the situation of ethnic and religious minorities in the region, historically a mosaic of cultures. Many of these groups have been annihilated, with those remaining taking shelter in the Kurdistan Region – itself under threat.

Pence also seems to have been deployed to Erbil to reassure American supporters of the Kurds, indicating the administration's stance on the Kurds has become a hot political topic ahead of the 2020 election.

Kurds should not become complacent about this renewed American commitment. Kurds should use this renewed political clout to reach concrete agreements with regional powers Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. At the same time, Kurdistan must bolster its relationship with world powers.

The Pence visit highlighted the disparity between Erbil and Baghdad in development, political stability, and inter-party consensus.

It should also act as a message to Syrian Kurds, too. The main parties there should work together - without interference from non-Kurdish actors - in order for the international community to widen the scope of its work with them, not just militarily, but also politically.

The US-led anti-ISIS coalition is publishing its statements and operation announcements in Rojava and northern Syria in the Kurdish language too - yet America’s political message to Kurds in northern Syria remains confidential.

Ako Mohammed is the CEO of Rudaw Media Network.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.

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