A 60 MINUTES segment which aired Sunday (2/18/07) revealed that Iraq is indeed disintegrating as a nation.  But according to host Bob Simon, this isn't altogether unreasonable or, for that matter, even unfortunate.  Indeed, despite stated claims by the Bush Administration that a "unified Iraq" remains America's objective, events there are serving up unexpected developments with unforeseen consequences.  

This latest political surprise however doesn't involve the once-powerful Sunnis, various insurgents, or even the now-ascendant Shiites.  In this instance, even US forces are safely "not targeted".  So what's so important if no one's even getting killed?

With little fanfare, Kurdish separatists are successfully establishing a state of their own within Iraq.  And US forces are doing little to stop them.  But why?

Though Arabs comprise the vast majority of that county's population--and nearly all of its war causalities--the small and relatively isolated (non-Arab) Kurdish population in Northern Iraq is initiating bold political changes which may prove irreversible.

The Kurds of Iraq, explained Simon, are the world's "largest nation without a country".  Simon lends subtle support to the idea that an irredentist "ethic minority" (Kurds) deserve their own separate nation which, like Israel, is poised to spring suddenly into being out of a battered nation of extremist Arabs.  Significantly, the new nation of 'Kurdistan' would not only be oil-rich but they would be strongly aligned with the Jewish state--from whom they already receive significant covert aid.  The declaration of an independent 'Kurdistan' might not only exacerbate Iraq's civil war but, in the long run, advance Israeli hegemony.  Both scenarios however pose substantial challenges to attaining regional stability.

But there's more to this story than even the possibility of a pro-Zionist entity emerging from the ashes of what was formerly a unified, Arab-ruled country.  Though 'Kurdistan' is by no means a recognized political fact, they are taking bold steps to become one, and they may plan to follow the Israeli strategy in achieving statehood.  The tactics include:  1) affirm an existential urgency for ethnic self-determination and nationhood, 2) grab the land, build walls, and ethnically cleanse (as needed), 3) with the help of organized Jewry, employ highly-placed operatives in NY-LA-Washington to sway the ruling elites, 4) declare this select act of ethnic-based nation-building a vital mission to the advancement of political freedom and basic human rights, and 5) soak American taxpayers for financial aid, military assistance, and diplomatic cover.  

Does this seem far-fetched?  Perhaps.  But it worked for Israel.

Indeed, a major part of the 'Kurdistan' story which was basically ignored by '60 MINUTES' is how the Jewish State will benefit enormously by the creation of a brand new, ardently pro-Zionist, and oil-rich ally operating right inside of what's now Northern Iraq.  Also ignored by '60 MINUTES' was any reference to the clever machinations of Jewish globalists whose devious ingenuity is allowing this political transformation to mature, even as the rest of Iraq falls into ruins.   

Indeed, while Baghdad burns, there's an economic boom, observes Simon on '60 MINUTES', going on right now inside Iraq's Kurdish region.  But where is all the money coming from?   And why is America allowing the de facto establishment of an illegal ethno-state to grow in Iraq as our military campaign throughout that nation fails?  '60 MINUTES' never says.

But if 'Kurdistan' does come into being, the clear winner (aside from Kurdish nationalists) will surely be Israel.  Could such a feat be pulled off?  With savvy assistance from enormously wealthy and uniquely well-connected individuals and institutions in New York, Tel Aviv and Washington, political miracles do happen, even unsavory ones.

It should be remembered however that before the US invasion of Iraq, the Kurdish region there was famously poor and relatively underdeveloped.  Now, 'Kurdistan' is a boom-town.  Curiously, though the Kurds are Muslim, they and the Jews of Israel are like two peas in ethnically-pure pods.  With unnoticed irony, the Kurds, like their mentors the Israelis, are determined to align themselves with the multi-ethnic and multi-religious United States in hopes of reaping a political windfall.  The exclusivist ethnic underpinnings of these two national entities however inadvertently mock America's commitment to racial and religious neutrality.

Kirkuk-to-Haifa Pipeline: Reason For War?

The provocative movement behind 'Kurdistan' independence, and the mysterious Israeli factor within it, have forced some to re-examine a theory I once dismissed as "nutty", namely, that the US invasion of Iraq was done in part so that Israel could reopen a long-ago severed pipeline from Kurdish Iraq to the Jewish State.  Could this be another piece in the puzzle of why the US was brought needlessly into a second Iraq War?  It's possible.

Certainly this Iraq War is devoted in no small way to advancing Israeli interests, even if oil concerns remain a factor behind the American invasion.  Whenever there's Israeli involvement however, the 'oil motive' becomes more complex than popularly imagined.  Bush's Iraq War may be less about securing oil for American corporations than for the politically-connected, but resource-poor, Israelis.

Indeed, though the US war on Iraq has been a disaster for nearly everyone, the Israelis have benefited in three distinct ways:  1) Iraq's threat to Israel was ended by America's toppling of Saddam Hussein and our destruction of his country's military capabilities, 2) America's invasion diverted world attention from Israel's subjugation of Palestine and its assault on their democratically-elected government, and 3) Establishing a pro-Israel country in Iraq could serve as a vital bulwark against regional Anti-Zionism and provide Israel with much-needed oil.

According to the story below, Israel will surely gain if the dormant pipeline between Kirkuk (Iraq) and Haifa (Israel) is re-opened.  For more on the explosive 'oil to Israel' story, see: http://zionofascism.wordpress.com/