"Kurdistan, Washington have five important joint interests"

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – In an interview with Kurdistan24 on Tuesday, Ernie Audino stated that the Kurdistan Region and the US have some important interests which should convince the new Washington administration would be more supportive to the Kurdistan Region.

Ernie Audino, a retired US Army brigadier general, is a senior military fellow at the London Center for Policy Research. He is the only US Army general to have previously served a year as a combat adviser embedded inside a Kurdish Peshmerga brigade in Iraq.

He said that the current relations between Erbil and Washington DC is better than ever.

“Some years ago, Americans couldn’t identify Kurdistan on the map. I blame that primarily on the lack of Kurdish information available in the English Language. But since June 2014 [emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq], the Kurds have been in the news in the United States,” Audino said.

He stated that the Kurdish Peshmerga forces have not only stopped IS and liberated territories from the jihadist group but also welcomed and made Kurdistan Region a shelter for almost two million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

“Americans are watching them. More Americans today than ever before are talking about Kurds,” he added.

Questioned by Kurdistan24 Anchor Kamaran Haji Omar that Kurds are afraid they might be used by the US as a card rather than an ally, Audino referred to the quote of the Kurdish nationalist leader Mulla Mustafa Barzani in 1962 to a western journalist that “Joint interests make for the best of allies.”

Audino stated that today the US and Kurds have many significant interests in common.

According to him, one of the noticeable interests between the two countries is the fight against the IS. “Da’esh won’t be defeated and destroyed without the help of Kurds. Humanity will benefit from that. The defeat of Da’esh is in the interest of the Kurds, the US and humanity,” Audino used the Arabic pejorative term for the IS, stating Peshmerga need more direct equipment, weapons, resources and help from the West.

About the second interest, he said that besides fighting IS militarily, there is a need for combating the extremist ideology. He believes that Kurds are moderate Muslims, noting that the US and West cannot play an effective role in fighting the jihadist ideology without the moderate Kurdish voice.

In addition to war with IS, Audino believes that there are other joint interests between the Kurdistan Region and the US. Democracy is another interest that according to him, a strong Kurdistan Region, even if it is not independent, can influence the regions around for promoting democracy in the area.

“Promoting democratic principles within Kurdistan benefits the West,” the retired US Brigadier General continued. “Today, Kurdistan Region is the best example of democratic principles; it is not perfect but better than elsewhere in Iraq. This is a sort of example that many of the Western countries would hope for the rest of Iraq. It is time for the Kurdistan Region to receive more support for promoting democratic principles.”

He noted that another interest between them is the balance of power in the Middle East. Iran’s influence in Iraq and some of the Gulf countries has largely increased since the withdrawal of the US troops in the country in 2011. He mentioned that the nature of the US foreign policy is to promote the balance of power in different regions to promote stability.

In his point of view, the US would strengthen the Kurdistan Region in the coming years and hoped that the new Washington administration would establish a large-scale, permanent US base in the Kurdistan Region as Kurds asked for many years ago.

Another interest in Audino’s opinion is the economy that the Kurdistan has “impressive oil regarding quantity.” The oil that has been exported to Turkey and abroad which resulted in close relations between Erbil and Ankara.

Moreover, he explained that the European Unions can benefit from Kurdish oil and gas as the union now largely relies on Russia for fulfilling their energy needs.

Speaking about the US betrayal of the Kurds in 1975, Audino stated that it is less likely to re-occur because there are many joint interests between the US and Kurdistan Region now.

Commenting on Trump’s support of Kurds, he mentioned that although actions speak louder, there are positive indications that the new US administration would be more supportive to the Kurdistan Region. Audino believes that the persons that Trump has chosen for his administration are pragmatic and supportive toward the Kurds.

Editing by Ava Homa