Monday October 9, 2006

I've Been Thinking:

Condi Rice's recent surprise visit to Iraq - actually surprised me.
Good for Rice that she chose to visit Arbil the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq.

Rice's visit to Kurdish Arbil demonstrated an insight and perspective unlike any I have seen in the years since the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
The purpose of the visit was to lobby the Kurds to play a role in building and securing a stable Iraq.
It was a wise and long overdue diplomatic move, not to mention that Arbil is rich - very rich, in oil.

There is "history" between the Kurds and the U.S., bonds originally established by the CIA. Numerous times over the last few decades the CIA has promised to support the Kurds if only they would help overthrow Saddam. In the end, time and again, the Kurds were left high and dry.

Today the Kurds have no confidence in U.S. promises.
By coming to pay them the proper respect Condi took a major step forward in the process of confidence building and trust.
Given the proper incentive, the Kurds are the ones who can stabilize Iraq.