Kurds elect Barzani president

[cal04]

THE Kurdish parliament in northern Iraq has elected veteran leader Masoud Barzani as president of the region, giving the group greater autonomy after decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein.Adnan al-Mufti, speaker of the Kurdish parliament, told a news conference parliament unanimously elected Barzani, whose long-time rival Jalal Talabani, of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), became Iraq's president earlier this year.

Barzani, head of the once rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), will be formally sworn in on Tuesday because poor weather prevented officials from flying to the region from Baghdad for a ceremony, officials said.After months of wrangling following an election at the same time as national voting on January 30, the show of support for Barzani in the new post strengthens the Kurds' grip on the north of Iraq and may bolster their bid to ensure they maintain their autonomy once a new constitution is drawn up in Baghdad.

That independence came with US military support after Saddam Hussein's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War. It was jeopardised by a civil war between the KDP and PUK. But for a decade Kurds have enjoyed greater prosperity than other Iraqis.
Barzani's election is the beginning of the realisation of the Kurdish dream of independence and the building of the Kurdish state in the region," said 24-year-old student Sara Ahmed in the city of Sulaimaniya.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15596821%255E1702,00.html

He was also a member of the US-led occupation of Iraq, "Iraq Interim Governing Council". He became president of the council on April 1, 2004, for a term of one month.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoud_Barzani

[Spazito]

1. This could get VERY interesting....

Turkey will, no doubt, be on the phone to bush re putting down any attempt to form an independent Kurdish state. This election, to me, is seen by the Kurds as another step forward to that independent state as stated in the last paragraph of the article:

"Barzani's election is the beginning of the realisation of the Kurdish dream of independence and the building of the Kurdish state in the region," said 24-year-old student Sara Ahmed in the city of Sulaimaniya."

[annabanana]

2. the "attempt to form a Kurdish State".. is pretty much

a foregone conclusion, isn't it? Haven't the Kurds been waiting for generations for this opportunity? How will Turkey keep their Kurds from joining? Who else in the neighborhood has a big Kurdish population,, hmmm?

[LynnTheDem]

3. Kurd Barzani, mortal enemy of Kurd Talabani; 30 years war between the two.

More Kurds dead from the 30 years war between the two than died from Turkey, Iran & Hussein combined.

And now Talabani = President of Iraq;

Barzani = President of Kurdistan.

Oh yeah, gonna get interesting.