Awaz
91 posts






Former CIA officer John Kiriakou says a Kurdish move into Iran is “100% likely,” arguing Kurdish forces could enter Iranian Kurdistan and force the IRGC out into the open that could be easily targeted




On the Yazidi performance in the Iraqi elections: while the KDP did secure the Yazidi quota seat, largely through votes from its security forces, the historic victory of the Yazidi Cause list has made that win largely ineffective in political and representational terms. Unlike the quota, which is easily manipulated, the Yazidi Cause’s breakthrough is genuinely grassroots and a far truer representation of Yazidis, as can be seen both in the voting patterns and in the celebrations now taking place in Yazidi communities. The Yazidi Cause list secured over 6,000 of the roughly 13,000 votes in the Yazidi IDP camps in Duhok, a level of penetration no party outside the KDP had previously achieved. Its votes in Sinjar and in Sheikhan, where some Yazidis also live, further undermine the quota MP’s claim to represent Yazidis, especially given that the quota seat was largely delivered through KDP security-force votes. By contrast, the Yazidi Cause ran for general seats and won them, marking a turning point for a community that has long been caught between KDP and Shia militia manipulation of its vote; in the previous two rounds, the quota seat was controlled by candidates close to the militias. Also, for the first time, none of the five KDP candidates who won in Nineveh are Yazidis, partly because many voters in the IDP camps and in Sheikhan who once backed KDP-aligned Yazidi candidates shifted their support to the Yazidi Cause. However, one of the two PUK candidates who won seats in Nineveh is a Yazidi.


















