IRAQ WAR REPORT: An Interview With War Correspondent Ali Musawi On The Kurdish Referendum

Written by Sarah Abed and published by Mint Press News

ERBIL, IRAQ — For the past three years, Ali Musawi has been reporting for Press TV on updates, agreements, and clashes involving Daesh (ISIS), Kurdish factions, and the Iraqi armed forces.  In an October 17, 2017 interview with Musawi, I was able to obtain on-the-ground insight from a war correspondent living in Erbil into the KRG referendum, the defeat of ISIS, and future of Iraq.

On September 25, despite what seemed to be a near-universal objection, a referendum took place in Northern Iraq, led by the Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) self-proclaimed president, Massoud Barzani. Nations worldwide — including; the U.S., U.K., France, UN, Iran, and the Iraqi government — all expressed their objection and dissent and were calling for its suspension.

Israel was the only vocal supporter of the referendum, which many analysts believe was more to bolster the opportunistic Barzani’s legitimacy than it was about independence for Iraqi Kurds. Both Israeli and Kurdish flags were waved in demonstrations around the world, promoting and raising awareness for the Kurdish referendum. The Israelis and Kurds have mutually benefited from a long-standing relationship, which at times was concealed or downplayed in order to not draw attention and critical speculation.

As I mentioned in a previous article, in 1966, Iraqi defense minister Abd al-Aziz al-Uqayli blamed the Kurds of Iraq for seeking to establish “a second Israel” in the Middle East. He also claimed that “the West and the East are supporting the rebels to create [khalq] a new Israeli state in the north of the homeland as they had done in 1948 when they created Israel.” Interestingly enough, history is repeating itself with their present-day relationship, but most recently we are seeing that relationship brought out in broad daylight without either side shying away from it as they have in the past.

Read the entire article HERE and I highly recommend that you listen to the audio interview clips as well!