This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/world/middleeast/kerry-kurds-iraq.html
The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Kurdish Leader Warns Kerry of Challenges of ‘New’ Iraq | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| ERBIL, Iraq — The president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region said Tuesday that Secretary of State John Kerry is confronting an enormous challenge in seeking a multisectarian government in the country, declaring “We are facing a new reality and a new Iraq.” | ERBIL, Iraq — The president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region said Tuesday that Secretary of State John Kerry is confronting an enormous challenge in seeking a multisectarian government in the country, declaring “We are facing a new reality and a new Iraq.” |
| Mr. Kerry’s trip to the Kurdish regional capital, Erbil, was his first as secretary of state, and he met with Masoud Barzani, the Kurdish president, after meetings in Baghdad on Monday with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, and with Shiite and Sunni politicians. (The last secretary of state to visit Erbil was Condoleezza Rice, who visited in 2006.) | Mr. Kerry’s trip to the Kurdish regional capital, Erbil, was his first as secretary of state, and he met with Masoud Barzani, the Kurdish president, after meetings in Baghdad on Monday with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, and with Shiite and Sunni politicians. (The last secretary of state to visit Erbil was Condoleezza Rice, who visited in 2006.) |
| After Sunni militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, took over Mosul and began to move south, Kurdish security forces responded by moving into Kirkuk, a city located in an oil-rich region that has long been divided between Arabs and Kurds. | After Sunni militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, took over Mosul and began to move south, Kurdish security forces responded by moving into Kirkuk, a city located in an oil-rich region that has long been divided between Arabs and Kurds. |
| The Kurdish expansion has put them in a position to demand more autonomy in political talks over Iraq’s future. But it may also complicate the effort to cobble together a new Iraqi government, particularly one that does not include Mr. Maliki, who has long been accused of autocratic tendencies by Iraqi politicians. | The Kurdish expansion has put them in a position to demand more autonomy in political talks over Iraq’s future. But it may also complicate the effort to cobble together a new Iraqi government, particularly one that does not include Mr. Maliki, who has long been accused of autocratic tendencies by Iraqi politicians. |
| American officials have made it clear privately that they would be open to the selection of a new prime minister, but it is uncertain whether Sunni and Kurdish political parties can find enough common ground in the process of forming a new government after Kurdish pesh merga fighters took control of Kirkuk. | American officials have made it clear privately that they would be open to the selection of a new prime minister, but it is uncertain whether Sunni and Kurdish political parties can find enough common ground in the process of forming a new government after Kurdish pesh merga fighters took control of Kirkuk. |
| “Ousting Maliki will require the cooperation of all the other blocs,” said Ramzy Mardini, an expert on Iraq and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, an independent think tank. “But Iraq isn’t a place where collective interests reign over parochial ones. The crisis is creating new facts on the ground, and will likely affect how the next government is formed. For example, Sunni and Kurdish cooperation is likely to diminish on government formation after the Kurds grabbed Kirkuk.” | “Ousting Maliki will require the cooperation of all the other blocs,” said Ramzy Mardini, an expert on Iraq and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, an independent think tank. “But Iraq isn’t a place where collective interests reign over parochial ones. The crisis is creating new facts on the ground, and will likely affect how the next government is formed. For example, Sunni and Kurdish cooperation is likely to diminish on government formation after the Kurds grabbed Kirkuk.” |
| The Kurds are a critical element of the political equation in Iraq. But Mr. Barzani has had a difficult relationship with Mr. Maliki, a Shiite. | The Kurds are a critical element of the political equation in Iraq. But Mr. Barzani has had a difficult relationship with Mr. Maliki, a Shiite. |
| Kurdish officials have insisted in recent days that the pesh merga expanded its footprint to better defend the Kurds against ISIS extremists, but the oil in the Kurdish region has long been at the center of friction between Baghdad and Erbil. | Kurdish officials have insisted in recent days that the pesh merga expanded its footprint to better defend the Kurds against ISIS extremists, but the oil in the Kurdish region has long been at the center of friction between Baghdad and Erbil. |
| The American goal during Mr. Kerry’s trip has been to insist that the Kurds put aside any thoughts of actual or de facto independence and play an active role in the process of forming a new government. | The American goal during Mr. Kerry’s trip has been to insist that the Kurds put aside any thoughts of actual or de facto independence and play an active role in the process of forming a new government. |
| “I think there’s a debate going on in the Kurdish region with some people saying, ‘Hey, this is actually pretty good, look what’s happening here,’ and others saying, ‘So we should just kind of build a moat and kind of do our own thing,'” said a senior State Department official. “That’s a minority debate.” | “I think there’s a debate going on in the Kurdish region with some people saying, ‘Hey, this is actually pretty good, look what’s happening here,’ and others saying, ‘So we should just kind of build a moat and kind of do our own thing,'” said a senior State Department official. “That’s a minority debate.” |
| “There’s a more majority debate out there that it is in nobody’s interest to have kind of Al Qaeda on steroids on our southern border, and the only way to make sure they are not is to make sure a moderate Sunni component is able to clear these areas,” the State Department official added. “And to do that it’s really essential that the Kurds are an effective and active part of the national political process, including with a very strong Kurdish president.” | “There’s a more majority debate out there that it is in nobody’s interest to have kind of Al Qaeda on steroids on our southern border, and the only way to make sure they are not is to make sure a moderate Sunni component is able to clear these areas,” the State Department official added. “And to do that it’s really essential that the Kurds are an effective and active part of the national political process, including with a very strong Kurdish president.” |
| In recent years, the largely ceremonial post of president in Iraq has been held by a Kurd — the prime minister possesses much greater authority — and American officials accept that the position is likely to remain in Kurdish hands. | In recent years, the largely ceremonial post of president in Iraq has been held by a Kurd — the prime minister possesses much greater authority — and American officials accept that the position is likely to remain in Kurdish hands. |
| Mr. Kerry, for his part, stuck to basic themes at the start of the meeting. | Mr. Kerry, for his part, stuck to basic themes at the start of the meeting. |
| “I look forward to a good conversation today about how the government formation process can produce the broad-based inclusive government that all the Iraqis I have talked to are demanding,” Mr. Kerry said. | “I look forward to a good conversation today about how the government formation process can produce the broad-based inclusive government that all the Iraqis I have talked to are demanding,” Mr. Kerry said. |
| In Qaim, near the border with Syria, at least one military aircraft attacked the insurgent-controlled town Tuesday morning, according to local officials. | In Qaim, near the border with Syria, at least one military aircraft attacked the insurgent-controlled town Tuesday morning, according to local officials. |
| Local medical staff said ordnance had struck a market and a nearby building, killing at least 22 people and wounding 49. The officials said the strikes were carried out by the Syrian Air Force, although their account could not be immediately confirmed. | Local medical staff said ordnance had struck a market and a nearby building, killing at least 22 people and wounding 49. The officials said the strikes were carried out by the Syrian Air Force, although their account could not be immediately confirmed. |
| The Syrian side of the border has long been under the control of various rebel groups. | The Syrian side of the border has long been under the control of various rebel groups. |
| The Iraqi border crossing was captured this past weekend by ISIS fighters. With the help of Sunni tribes and using weapons captured from the Syrian and Iraqi militaries, including many weapons formerly provided to Iraq’s security forces by the United States, the insurgents have been driving government forces from Sunni-dominated areas in Iraq’s west. | The Iraqi border crossing was captured this past weekend by ISIS fighters. With the help of Sunni tribes and using weapons captured from the Syrian and Iraqi militaries, including many weapons formerly provided to Iraq’s security forces by the United States, the insurgents have been driving government forces from Sunni-dominated areas in Iraq’s west. |
| Elsewhere in Iraq, Sunni militants ringing the sprawling oil refinery in Baiji again claimed to have overrun the complex and taken control. | Elsewhere in Iraq, Sunni militants ringing the sprawling oil refinery in Baiji again claimed to have overrun the complex and taken control. |
| An Iraqi officer defending the refinery, reached by telephone, said the claim was false. He said that the militants had advanced deeper into the complex but that the battle had not ended. | An Iraqi officer defending the refinery, reached by telephone, said the claim was false. He said that the militants had advanced deeper into the complex but that the battle had not ended. |
| “Everything is still under control,” said the officer, Brig. Gen. Arras Abdul Qadir. “The militants took over the towers around the external fence, but they lost a lot of people doing it.” | “Everything is still under control,” said the officer, Brig. Gen. Arras Abdul Qadir. “The militants took over the towers around the external fence, but they lost a lot of people doing it.” |
| The refinery has been besieged ever since ISIS militants swept across sections of northern Iraq earlier this month, and the insurgents have previously claimed to have captured it. | The refinery has been besieged ever since ISIS militants swept across sections of northern Iraq earlier this month, and the insurgents have previously claimed to have captured it. |
| The militants have extensive experience laying siege to isolated government outposts in Syria, and they have sustained battles for weeks and even months in the past. Their tactics have typically included cutting off roads and harassing aircraft that attempt to resupply marooned garrisons, while staging intermittent attacks to penetrate and gradually overpower the defenders inside. | The militants have extensive experience laying siege to isolated government outposts in Syria, and they have sustained battles for weeks and even months in the past. Their tactics have typically included cutting off roads and harassing aircraft that attempt to resupply marooned garrisons, while staging intermittent attacks to penetrate and gradually overpower the defenders inside. |