An American newspaper: The Biden administration must stop funding death squads in Kurdistan
An American newspaper: The Biden administration must stop funding death squads in Kurdistan
2021-11-30
A report by the American newspaper, the Washington Examiner, on Tuesday demanded that the administration of US President Joe Biden stop funding the so-called “death squads” in Iraqi Kurdistan, namely the anti-terrorist apparatus and the intelligence service of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
The report stated that “the US intelligence services had a relationship that lasted for more than two decades with the Kurdish intelligence service of the Patriotic Union (Zinari) along with its counterpart in the Kurdistan Democratic Party (Asayish), and Zinari was the spearhead in the fight against terrorism in the region against both ISIS and the Iraqi resistance factions.” . According to the newspaper.
And he added, “Last summer, Bafel and Qubad Talabani, the sons of the late Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, staged an internal coup to expel their cousin Lahore from the leadership of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and from his position as leader of the Zenari apparatus, where their move was carefully coordinated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which does not like Lahore, Bafel and Qubad agreed to appoint Salman Amin, also known as Azhi Amin, as head of the Zinari apparatus, in addition to appointing Wahab Halabji as head of the Counter-Terrorism Service.
The report stated that “Iraqi Kurdistan promotes itself as a democratic oasis, but it is in fact an increasingly dysfunctional police state, as the crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland reflects a lot.” Those who are risking their lives on the border between Belarus and Poland are not Afghans or Syrians fleeing the war, but Kurds frustrated with the corruption and mismanagement of the Barzani and Talabani families.”
He continued, “Over the past week, tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurds, at first university students joined later by many others, took to the streets to protest corruption and stop the entitlements. Certainly, a region that promotes itself as a democracy must tolerate if it does not welcome protests. The security forces first fired tear gas and then live ammunition at the protesters.”
The report indicated that “Bavel and Qubad Talabani used Zinari’s apparatus to target their local opponents, as Bafel set out and used the intelligence apparatus to arrest all those who worked closely with Lahore, including his bodyguards,” noting that “this paranoia reflects the separation from reality. It also testifies to a failure to understand what happens when leaders live like kings while falling behind on employee and student salaries.”
The report added, “What should be of concern to the CIA and the Pentagon is that the Talabani brothers also used the US-funded and equipped Counter-Terrorism Service to go door-to-door to arrest protesters, which means diverting aid or redirecting US-trained counter-terrorism forces. To act as local enforcement forces in pursuit of dictatorship.”
It is time for President Joe Biden, CIA Director William Burns, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to take control of their partners. U.S. assistance should never be an entitlement, and partnerships should be with states and regimes rather than individual politicians, because tolerating the use of U.S.-trained forces as death squads by security partners also undermines U.S. credibility more broadly.
burathanews.com
