A while ago, when the Turkish troops were bombing northern Iraq in their effort to root out the Kurdish anti-Turkish government, PKK, and when the Iraqi gang, including the Kurdish leaders, were silent about the attacks that killed dozens of innocent Iraqis, I wrote an entry telling the readers my own analysis of the situation. In the entry, I said that the whole issue is a behind-closed-doors deal with the Turks, Americans and Iraqis to solve several issues. The issues, as I saw them, were: Iraqi Kurdish side: the Oil Law, which was opposed by the Iraqi political gangs; the issue of Kirkuk, which was delayed over and over again by the Iraqi gang; the issue of Kurdistan’s share of Iraq’s revenues, which the Kurds wanted it to be 17% and the Iraqi gang only offered 14%; and the salaries of the pes merga, the Kurdish security forces.

In my entry, I said that in order for the Americans, who label the PKK “terrorist group, and the Turks, who consider the PKK a dangerous political rival, to get rid of the PKK, they needed the Iraqi Kurds to allow the attacks. The deal was, I thought, that the Kurdistan government will be silent and only verbally “condemn the offensive actions” in northern Iraq as long as the Americans help the Kurds to solve the issues above with the Iraqi government.

Now, here is the news:

Yesterday, the Iraqi gang, headed of course by Dawa party and SIIC, signed on the Oil Law, as was proposed at the beginning with no amendments, even though the Iraqi parliament amended several articles and did not agree on the first draft. [that shows how much effective and respected the Iraqi parliament is!] The law gives the Kurdistan government total control of the oil wells and refineries in Kurdistan.

The Iraqi gang also signed an agreement that tasks the Iraqi Ministry of Defense with paying the salaries of the pesh merga, which number about 200,000.

The Iraqi gang also signed an agreement to put a new timeframe for Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which deals with the city of Kirkuk and its future. The UN will be supervising the process.

Now you believe that Iraqis who have lived in Iraq all there lives and struggled through the baathist regime and suffered and lived through three wars, an invasion and fatal sanctions and survived, know much much more about Iraqi politics and the former “opposition” leaders and their interests than anyone else on the planet?

Painting by Iraqi artist Betool Fekaiki