Calling ALL Kurds!

We have got to think strategically!

Kurds come home!!! Come home NOW! Your country needs you and your expertise. Now is the time, because there is a window of opportunity that may not arise again soon. There are millions of Kurds in the diaspora communities in the US and Europe and now is the time for you to bring your skills, your labor, your fighting spirit to a country you can call your own.

Why now? If not now then when? Why you? If not you then who?

Countries are formed in periods of flux and chaos. As far as I can research, countries are formed by a colonial power, by a colonial powers departure from the area, or through civil war or successful rebellion. The latter two usually require a sponsoring superpower to provide arms and this path is filled with death and destruction. The BEST way to get a country is JUST DO IT and then it will be a de facto country. This gives a sponsoring superpower the reasons they need to recognize the country. Believe me, nations do not do things for "human rights" reasons. They never have done that. They only act in their own self-interest. The formation of Kurdistan as a nation has to be not only the "right" thing to do, providing a moral argument, which we already have; it also requires a "what's in it for us argument". That is what we need to establish within this brief window of time before the US gives up on Iraq (not saying that will happen too soon, and they could win in Iraq, but it is looking less likely by the day). A "Case" must be made for Kurdistan in the affirmative, not based on human rights.

HOW?

We must make Kurdistan stable, and prosperous for international business and harbor a key strategic position for the US, and increase population in a centralized region that the superpowers have it within their power to delineate and declare "free". Let's take this one at a time, please bear with me.

Population

To the Kurds in other surrounding countries: Come to Iraqi Kurdistan. To Iraqi Kurds: Welcome them as brothers and Sisters. Don't think it can be done? It can be done, because it has been done. Some people may object to the comparison, and I only ask that you think dispassionately about it. In 1948-1950 Israel absorbed 580,000 Middle Eastern Jews that had been thrown out of their countries and homes penniless and with just the clothes on their back. There were tent cities everywhere, but that did not matter. The Jewish population pre-1948 barely equaled the amount they absorbed in those two years. Everyone came and worked together, doing whatever they could do to build the country because there WAS NO GOING BACK. It had to be done, and there was great attachment to the land. Just like Kurds, the Jews had always said/say every year "Next Year in Jerusalem" and Kurds also say "Next Year in Kurdistan". This year we have to mean it.

The boundaries of Kurdistan are not going to include the whole of Kurdish areas. This is not possible because they are not currently under the authority of the US to bestow. This will cause a war that Kurds can't win. It must be made clear that the Turks, Iranians, Syrians, and all other Kurdish population centers are not going to try to gain autonomy there; they will be content to have only Iraqi Kurdistan as a free country. Why? Because even though the surrounding countries are opposed to a Kurdish Country they are mainly afraid that this rebellion will spread and they don't want to give up any land. They will make war. Even the Peshmerga can not fight the Turks. The US will not fight them for you either. The US will prevent them from coming over the border into Iraqi Kurdistan however, so there is a few years to make this happen. If we don't plan this now, I am telling you, the window will close. Turkey said they would come over the border if the Kurds controlled Kerkuk, but they haven't and the Kurds DO control Kerkuk! As long as Iraq is a mess, the other countries will not want to get involved and Kurds can make a country while everyone is worrying about the Shia and the Sunni.

What Kurds all over the world must do is leave your homes and go to Iraqi Kurdistan. Bring whatever you can with you. If you have skills, all the better, but if you don't you can learn to fight with the Peshmerga. The Peshmerga will train everyone in the use of small arms and the skilled professionals, builders etc..will be protected by the Peshmerga. There are currently 50K Peshmerga, so 100,000 would be a good target. This would be too formidable of an Army for anyone to try to take on as long as it did not REALLY threaten them. The "insurgents" have not penetrated Kurdistan and they will not be able to if Peshmerga are able and willing to guard the borders and keep them out! Kurds do not want them beheading people and Peshmerga are used to fighting these butchers. It's Kurdish soil, and it must be defended as holy ground...which it is.

The number one excuse I hear is "But then the Iraqis will hate us". You know what? They already hate Kurds. They can only hate you so much and then they can't hate anymore. It would be very hard to imagine that those predisposed to hating Kurds could possibly hate any more than they already do. Stop worrying about winning them over and start worrying about Kurdistan. What will happen if the US leaves? You know it and I know it...Genocide!

Then there are the people who want a federation with Iraq. Fine, then double the Kurdish population so Kurds will be 40% of the country and not 20%. This will give Kurds the power needed to bargain, unlike now. Kurdistan will be the financially safe, well defended section of the country and they will have no choice but to deal fairly. If Kurds remain 20%, there will always be danger and the central government will always short change Kurdistan. Forget it! If you want it, you must grow it, you must build it, it must be superior to everything else the area has to offer. Just Do It!!

Who will help, who will train everyone? You are receiving training from the USA in military affairs now. The people who fought with the US can also train more soldiers. The people that have served in the militaries of other countries can train more soldiers. And yeah, whether anyone else wants to hear it or not, the fact is the Israelis have been, and will continue to train people that are not their enemies. Who do you want to train you Jordan?!! What war have they won? NONE. Take friends where you find them and screw everyone else. Where were they when Kurds needed them? Make alliances based on the best training available and be loyal to the people that help. Have only want friends that are loyal. It is just one of the truisms of the situation that Israelis have been loyal to Kurds to the extent they were able. They will not support the PKK, and neither will any other country except Syria, and no one needs friends like that. It will simply mean more war, and it will align Kurds with the people running around beheading people if you take their money. A democracy can include the PKK as a political arm that has renounced violence, but not as an insurgency in Turkey or Iran. Do not take money from the enemies of freedom, or their ideology, or you can expect to have a country like theirs and no one wants that.

Minorities in Kurdistan and Opposition Parties....LISTEN UP!!! Everyone is out to kill you! You know this is true, just read the news and anyone with a brain can figure this out. What you must do, and I mean each person, one person or family at a time, is win over the minorities in Kurdistan. Make them welcome too! Let them know you will respect their rights and Kurdish families will defend them too. If they perceive that you have done wrong by them (not if you have, but if they THINK you have) then do what they teach in the west, It's called triple A: Acknowledge, Apologize and Accommodate. Acknowledge that there have been sins committed, then apologize for all that has happened, and make some accommodation to assure it will not happen again. Be willing to share resources, respect, and power. Don't make them feel threatened because you will have an enemy within and that's bad. This is also true of opposition Parties...think about it! You are facing the most difficult of all tasks and you need everyone to agree that the enemy is those OTHER people. Kurds can have a government where all concerns will be addressed. They can not fight amongst themselves for a house divided can not stand.

Business

Already, some very brave people have moved into Kurdistan to start businesses in the western style method of management. We need much more of this. A while ago I read an article that Kurdistan wished to become the "silicon valley" of the Middle East. This is going over well in the world. People admire Kurds from afar, even some of the people that deride you. Kurds need new businesses and a new business climate. This new "culture" of business must get rid of the bribes and corruption. Do business clean. No pay-offs, and shun those that engage in that kind of transaction. The international business community keeps a list of "the most corrupt countries to do business" and Nigeria leads the list. Don't imitate them, refuse to do it that way. Learn from the Western Kurds that return to Kurdistan how to keep the books open and clean. Not that the west always does a great job, but they do better than most.

Develop a Strategic Plan for Kurdistan. What grows there that you can only grow well there? What skills do you possess and what can you do with those skills that no one else is doing. You have fighters, and that's good because if you look at the British interaction with Nepal you will find that they use the Brigade of gurkhas. in all of their battles and peacekeeping missions. It may not sound all that important, but that's why Nepal still exists. If this is your specialty, it's not too bad, but it could be better. Kurds are industrious and can learn many different specialties. In a free society, there is room for factories and investments. You must obey copyright laws and make sure you grow enough food for the population to keep imports to a minimum. Try very hard to stay away from the IMF and World Bank. They have put more countries in impossible debt situations which makes it impossible for them to care for their people which leads to unrest.

Kurds will always have a large diaspora, as not everyone will be able to come back home. Appeal to them to help you. Put a "paypal" collection on your websites. Keep cash flow in and not out. Use it to give a man a fishing pole so that he may eat for a year, do not use it to give a man food for each day. That's not always possible, food today is important, but focus on establishing small collective farms and free enterprise business development. Everyone can get together and build a building, and hold small parts of stock in the building. When a businessperson rents that building, then everyone that helped build it will get a small cut of the rents. See the way they did this in Beirut, it's a great example.

Christian communities will have the ability to raise money through worldwide programs, welcome them in. They are under threat in Baghdad, so reach out to them. Invite the international aid workers in and PROTECT THEM!!! Do NOT become dependent on foreign assistance however, because that is addictive in many ways. It is a short term solution. Use the money to start businesses. Trust me on this, it's the way of the world. Ethiopia has done little but rely on aid, and they die at age 45 right? You must develop an economy and EVERYONE must lend a hand.

Then there is the oil issue. Kurds will have to maintain control of Kirkuk, that should be self-evident. Yes, Kurdistan will have to cooperate with Iraq on that, but you know the other Arab countries find ways to cooperate on oil no matter how much they dislike one another. Remember the illegal pipeline that ran from Kirkuk through Jordan to the port in Israel? Cooperation comes through financial interests all the time. Don't expect them to like Kurds all of a sudden and never trust them totally, but deal fairly with them in spite of all of their mental problems. Citizens will need to get in and out of the country in some way, so make sure one border route is open. Kurds will also need flyover space and over-land routes. This will be the most difficult part of the development. It will be a landlocked country, but that has not stopped other landlocked countries from success so don't let it stop Kurds either.

Everyone needs a website for their business. This is not so hard believe me. Kurds have more abilities with computers than 100's of other nations do. Internet cafe's are a good thing. There are hosting sites for $4.95 a month. Some can be for free. If you can reach the world, you can have a global business. This would be particularly good for the diaspora to be able to purchase things from home, like Kurdish clothing, Kurdish folklore tales, movies, music, flags, recipe books, carpets, henna designs, woodwork with Kurdish friezes on it, dolls in Kurdish clothing, ceramics showing Kurds, teaching tapes for language, coins (and replica Kurdish coins), Peshmerga gear, University clothing with symbols of Kurdish pride on them in English, or whatever embroidery the buyer wants, paintings of Kurdish landscapes ect..I could go on and on about things that Kurds could sell, even if just on eBay:).

Finally, (If you're with me so far congratulations:). Get the Americans to put a big base there. This gives the US the safety of Kurdistan and that is a strategic interest to them. This will give them something to defend and protect. It also gives Kurds a market to serve. You can make a lot of money serving soldiers, there are many examples of this all over. DO not allow the accumulation of drugs and prostitution that sometimes accompanies this. This creates bad relations with the local community. If you entertain them, and provide restaurants, hotels, folklore gifts and do not abuse them and control crime, then they will love Kurds(as the US military already does. They will go back to the US and talk about you favorably and support Kurds efforts to build a country. Kurds can invite diplomats there to rest and have resorts in the cool mountains for the summer. However, resist the urge to become only a tourist area, because the ups and downs of world economy plus any unrest creates a boom and bust economy which is difficult to manage. Hire good consultants whenever possible. USAID does a pretty good job, but teach every child a little bit of good marketing, operations management, accounting and finance techniques and you will always be assured of good cash flow.

Make loyal friends, and fierce enemies but above all succeed!!