Kurdistan Celebrates

“On behalf of the Kurdish people I wish to thank the American President George W. Bush, the American administration, the American people and their military who helped in overthrowing the cruelest dictatorship and to liberate us. We will never forget this brave decision, and we reassure them that we will be together in confronting terrorism and in building a federal democratic Iraq. I would also like to thank British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the British people, their military, and all members of the coalition and multi-national forces.”

President Mazoud Barzani, June 14, 2005


A young Kurdish girl celebrates the swearing-in of Masoud Barzani as the regional leader in Kirkuk, Kurdistan on June 14, 2005.

From Rebel Leader to President of Kurdistan!

Former rebel leader Massoud Barzani took the oath of office to become the first president of Iraqi Kurdistan during a ceremony in the autonomous region’s parliament in Arbil.

“I promise to safeguard the accomplishments of Kurdistan and to carry out my duties faithfully,” Barzani told the gathering which included Iraq’s President Jalal Talabani, his former Kurdish rival.

Also present were Talabani’s two deputies Ghazi al-Yawar, a Sunni Arab, and Adel Abdel Mahdi, a Shiite, as well as Hajem al-Hassani, the country’s parliament speaker and several ministers in the current Iraqi government.

“We believe that Kurdistan’s democratic experience can serve as a model for the democratic experience yearned for by Iraq,” said Talabani.


Kurds celebrate in Kurdistan yesterday during swearing in ceremonies.

Meanwhile, today the Washington Post is alleging that US forces collaborated in unlawful detentions of minorities in Kurdish Iraq:

Key Phrase- *Sometimes with knowledge of US forces*

The detainees have been abducted by police and security units led by Kurdish political parties and sometimes with the knowledge of U.S. forces, the report said, citing government documents and families of the victims.

The newspaper said it had obtained a confidential State Department cable addressed to the White House, Pentagon and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that “raises concern” about the unlawful detentions and transfers.

Kirkuk is claimed by three ethnic groups — Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen — and has seen an alarming increase in violence and tension, officials say.

The cable described the detentions as being part of a “concerted and widespread initiative” by Kurdish political parties “to exercise authority in Kirkuk in an increasingly provocative manner,” the newspaper said.

(Whenever you see the “raises concerns” you know the media is going to beat this story like a dead horse.)

Update: (Thursday AM) Glenn Reynolds, the vacationing Instapundit has linked to this “Good News from Kurdistan”.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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