Iraq’s First Lady Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed released a strongly-worded open letter on Thursday urging all sides involved in the war with Iran to “leave the Kurds alone.”
The letter comes amid reports that the CIA is encouraging Iranian Kurdish fighters in Iraq to challenge Iran. It also follows an Iranian attack on what Iranian media referred to as “separatist terrorist groups” in Iraqi Kurdistan on Wednesday.
Ahmed’s letter recounts how the US urged Iraqi Kurds to “rise up against the regime of Saddam Hussein” in 1991, only for the Kurds “to be abandoned when priorities changed.”
The Iraqi first lady, who is Kurdish herself, also notes that the US ended its alliance with Kurdish forces in Syria in January after several years of close coordination, allowing the Syrian government to seize swathes of Kurdish-held territory.
“Too often, the Kurds are remembered only when their strength or sacrifice is needed,” Ahmed concluded. “For that reason, I appeal to all sides involved in this conflict. Leave the Kurds alone. We are not guns for hire.”
Ahmed’s letter is only the latest statement from Kurdish leaders in Iraq distancing themselves from the reported CIA plan to deploy Iranian Kurds.
Earlier Thursday, the Kurdistan Regional Government said it was “not part of any campaign to expand the war and tensions in the region,” calling reports of Iraqi involvement with the CIA plan to support an invasion “completely unfounded.”- CNN
What a principled stand! Say more lady.