Kurdistan is rising as Iraq collapses: Retired US general

WASHINGTON, United States (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region is rising as Iraq—a failed state—collapses, according to a retired US Army official.

Speaking during a panel on the upcoming Kurdish independence referendum titled “The Kurdistan Region: Strategic US Ally in a Tough Neighborhood,” retired US Army Brigadier General Ernie Audino pointed to the importance of Kurdistan as a regional partner.

Audino began by praising and acknowledging the Peshmerga forces' sacrifices and those martyred in the battle against the Islamic State (IS).

He emphasized the importance of the Kurdish forces’ role and said the extremist group could not be defeated without them.

“I’d like to express my sympathies in great respect and admiration to the martyrs in this fight to defend humanity and their families,” the retired Brig. Gen. said.

“[IS] will not be destroyed and kept that way without the Kurds,” he added. “That’s interest number one.”

Audino also mentioned the US should defend Kurds so the influence of IS’ ideology would be stifled.

The Americans’ role in the defeat of the militant group’s ideology “is to support and defend…those moderate Sunni voices, the Kurds in particular.”

Regarding Washington’s “one-Iraq” policy, he said key US national interests were at stake and would be advanced if the plan was altered, specifically relating to an independent Kurdistan.

“We have some very serious, important US interests that will be advanced by granting an exception” to the “one-Iraq” policy, he explained.

The former army general also pointed to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) as “the best example of democracy” in the Middle East.

“Iraq is collapsing of its own weight,” Audino stated. “Do we ignore the cream that’s rising to the top in Kurdistan?”

“We have a great example of decency, humanity, peacefulness, and friendliness in [the Kurdistan Region],” he concluded. “Supporting it is by far the best option.”

Editing by G.H. Renaud