This article is from the source 'guardian' 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.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/15/middle-east-borders-redrawn-religious-war-paddy-ashdown-kurds

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Middle East borders are being redrawn in religious war, says Paddy Ashdown Middle East borders are being redrawn in religious war, says Paddy Ashdown
(about 7 hours later)
Paddy Ashdown, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, has endorsed the government's decision to say it is prepared to arm Kurdish forces as he called on Britain and the US to act as "handmaidens to Kurdish independence".Paddy Ashdown, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, has endorsed the government's decision to say it is prepared to arm Kurdish forces as he called on Britain and the US to act as "handmaidens to Kurdish independence".
Warning that the Middle East is engulfed in a religious war, with echoes of the Thirty Years' War in Central Europe in the seventeenth century, Ashdown said the borders in the region will be broken up in the conflict. Warning that the Middle East is engulfed in a religious war, with echoes of the Thirty Years' war in central Europe in the 17th century, Ashdown said the borders in the region will be broken up in the conflict.
"This is a convulsion, it's a terrible convulsion and it is a dangerous one," Ashdown told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4."This is a convulsion, it's a terrible convulsion and it is a dangerous one," Ashdown told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.
"But in the process of the convulsion, when it is over, the borders of the Middle East will have been drawn. Sykes-Picot [the secret Anglo-French 1916 agreement to draw the borders of the Middle East] will be out the window and we will see a shape of the Middle East which is much more arbitrated by religious belief than by old imperial preferences… We are beginning to recognise the unstitching of the Sykes-Picot borders because you are disturbing the integrity of Iraq.""But in the process of the convulsion, when it is over, the borders of the Middle East will have been drawn. Sykes-Picot [the secret Anglo-French 1916 agreement to draw the borders of the Middle East] will be out the window and we will see a shape of the Middle East which is much more arbitrated by religious belief than by old imperial preferences… We are beginning to recognise the unstitching of the Sykes-Picot borders because you are disturbing the integrity of Iraq."
The former leader of the Lib Dems, who served as the high representative for Bosnia between 2002-06, spoke out after the government made clear it was prepared to provide arms to Kurds fighting jihadists from the Islamic State (Isis) in northern Iraq. David Cameron and Nick Clegg agreed at a meeting of the government's Cobra committee on Thursday that Britain would respond favourably to a request from the Kurds for direct military assistance. The former leader of the Lib Dems, who served as the high representative for Bosnia between 2002 and 2006, spoke out after the government made clear it was prepared to provide arms to Kurds fighting jihadists from the Islamic State (Isis) in northern Iraq. David Cameron and Nick Clegg agreed at a meeting of the government's Cobra committee on Thursday that Britain would respond favourably to a request from the Kurds for direct military assistance.
In welcoming the decision, Ashdown said: "Support the Kurds, support them with arms. I can't imagine why the government has been so reluctant about this. They've moved today and I am glad to see that they have. It is a strange scruple that differentiates between flying in other people's weapons and providing your own.In welcoming the decision, Ashdown said: "Support the Kurds, support them with arms. I can't imagine why the government has been so reluctant about this. They've moved today and I am glad to see that they have. It is a strange scruple that differentiates between flying in other people's weapons and providing your own.
"Support the Kurds by all means we can. They can provide rescue and refuge for the Yazidis. They are secular. They act as a northern bulwark against the advance of Isis. We are acting as handmaidens to Kurdish independence.""Support the Kurds by all means we can. They can provide rescue and refuge for the Yazidis. They are secular. They act as a northern bulwark against the advance of Isis. We are acting as handmaidens to Kurdish independence."
But Ashdown said that arming the Kurds would require careful handling of Turkey, which will be deeply alarmed by moves towards Kurdish independence, as part of a wider strategy as the west responds to the break up of the imperial borders. In addition to a "deeper engagement" with Turkey there should be a new rapprochement with Iran, which can act as "counter balance to Sunni jihadism", and pressure on Saudi Arabia and Qatar to stop funding the jihadis. But Ashdown said that arming the Kurds would require careful handling of Turkey, which will be deeply alarmed by moves towards Kurdish independence, as part of a wider strategy as the west responds to the break-up of the imperial borders. In addition to a "deeper engagement" with Turkey there should be a new rapprochement with Iran, which can act as "counterbalance to Sunni jihadism", and pressure on Saudi Arabia and Qatar to stop funding the jihadis.
The former Lib Dem leader, who had earlier outlined his thinking in a Guardian article, said: "It is about a widening Sunni-Shia war, the jihadisation funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar of the Sunni community as a preparation for this war – think Europe and the Thirty Years' War. It really is time that we joined the dots. Instead of having a series of plans for a series of humanitarian catastrophes, we need to have an integrated strategy for containing a wider war." The former Lib Dem leader, who had earlier outlined his thinking in a Guardian article, said: "It is about a widening Sunni-Shia war, the jihadisation funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar of the Sunni community as a preparation for this war – think Europe and the Thirty Years' war. It really is time that we joined the dots. Instead of having a series of plans for a series of humanitarian catastrophes, we need to have an integrated strategy for containing a wider war."
The former Lib Dem leader spoke out after the foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, prepared to tell his EU counterparts in Brussels on Friday that Britain was prepared to join France in arming the Kurds. The move was immediately welcomed by the chancellor of the Kurdish Region Security Council, who had pleaded with Britain earlier in the week to rally to the help of the Kurds. Masrour Barzani said: "If it's true, we welcome and appreciate the British decision to supply us with the effective weapons that we've been asking for." The former Lib Dem leader spoke out after the foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, prepared to tell his EU counterparts in Brussels on Friday that Britain was ready to join France in arming the Kurds. The move was immediately welcomed by the chancellor of the Kurdish Region Security Council, who had pleaded with Britain earlier in the week to rally to the help of the Kurds. Masrour Barzani said: "If it's true, we welcome and appreciate the British decision to supply us with the effective weapons that we've been asking for."
Government sources said Britain was not moving towards direct military intervention in Iraq. They said the decision to respond positively to a request to arm Kurdish forces was consistent with the government's approach of responding to a humanitarian crisis.Government sources said Britain was not moving towards direct military intervention in Iraq. They said the decision to respond positively to a request to arm Kurdish forces was consistent with the government's approach of responding to a humanitarian crisis.
Britain previously indicated that it was only prepared to transport weapons to the Kurds on behalf of other EU countries. These were mainly Soviet-era weapons from former Warsaw-pact countries.Britain previously indicated that it was only prepared to transport weapons to the Kurds on behalf of other EU countries. These were mainly Soviet-era weapons from former Warsaw-pact countries.
But Cameron and Clegg, the latter taking part in the Cobra meeting via a secure link from his Spanish holiday, agreed that Britain would respond favourably to a request from the Kurds for direct assistance. It is expected that Britain will initially provide hi-tech equipment, such as night-vision goggles. The Kurds have been trained on weapons from the former Soviet Union which means that they rely on eastern European countries for their arms. But Britain would provide weapons and ammunition if requested. But Cameron and Clegg, the latter taking part in the Cobra meeting via a secure link from his Spanish holiday, agreed that Britain would respond favourably to a request from the Kurds for direct assistance. It is expected that Britain will initially provide hi-tech equipment, such as night-vision goggles. The Kurds have been trained on weapons from the former Soviet Union, which means that they rely on eastern European countries for their arms. But Britain would provide weapons and ammunition if requested.
The decision to agree to such a request highlighted Britain's concerns about the challenge of defeating Isis forces, despite what the prime minister described as good news after Washington abandoned a rescue mission from Mount Sinjar. The decision was made after US forces on the ground found fewer than expected Yazidi refugees because the Kurds had already rescued many and US air strikes had succeeded in beating back Isis forces. The decision to agree to such a request highlighted Britain's concerns about the challenge of defeating Isis forces, despite what the prime minister described as good news after Washington abandoned a rescue mission from Mount Sinjar. The decision was made after US forces on the ground found fewer-than-expected Yazidi refugees because the Kurds had already rescued many and US air strikes had succeeded in beating back Isis forces.