Former US Official: Second Trump Term will Benefit Kurdistan Region

‘When you look at the personnel, this Trump administration is going to be much better and much more constructive in maintaining” the US relationship with the Kurdistan Region.

Col. Rich Outzen (U.S. Army, Retired). (Photo: Kurdistan 24)
Col. Rich Outzen (U.S. Army, Retired). (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Nov. 16, 2024

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) Col Rich Outzen (U.S. Army, Retired) spoke to Kurdistan 24 on Friday and explained how the Kurdistan Region will benefit from a second term of Donald Trump as U.S. president. 

The Middle East has been the focus of Outzen’s career, and he deployed twice to Iraq: during the 2003 war that ousted Saddam Hussein and, before that, during Operation Provide Comfort, when President George H.W. Bush corrected, at least in part, the blunder he made in calling a premature cease-fire to the 1991 Gulf War, and U.S. forces then helped bring the Kurdish people home–down from the mountains, to where they had fled, fearing Saddam would use chemical weapons.

Read More: Masoud Barzani hails Operation Provide Comfort, even as he warns of current dangers

Much later, during Trump’s first term, Outzen served on the State Department’s Policy Planning staff.

Outzen: Trump Believes in Peace through Strength

“I think it’s very clear that Donald Trump is a believer in peace, peace through strength, that he believes in a strong U.S. military, strong deterrent posture,” Outzen said, citing Trump’s record from his first administration and his more recent statements. 

But “he also believes in talking to everybody, and he’s a deal-maker. That comes from his background in business,” Outzen continued.  “So I think that he will, very early on, have discussions with all the stakeholders in the various conflicts going around right now.”

“A commitment to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is a strong, bipartisan proposition,” Outzen affirmed, but there was a problem with the Biden administration: it was weak in the face of aggression. 

“For the Kurdistan Region, this includes Iran and Iran’s activities throughout the Middle East, with regard to using the Houthis and Hamas and Hizbollah in its long-running campaign against Israel,” he explained.

“I think Democrats and Republicans alike understand that our interests in the Middle East and in Iraq are best served by having a strong relationship with the Kurdistan Region,” Outzen continued.

Then, in apparent reference to his own experience in Operation Provide Comfort and the developments that followed, he explained, “I think since the early 1990s, this has been a relationship [between the U.S. and the Kurdistan Region] built on mutual trust and strength.”

Trump’s “initial cabinet picks,” Outzen suggested, although they have not yet been confirmed, so “there’s some ways to go in terms of having them in position,” suggest a positive stance. 

“People like Mike Waltz, who’s been nominated to be the National Security Advisor, and Pete Hegseth, who’s been nominated for Secretary of Defense” and “also Marco Rubio, who has been nominated for the Secretary of State, these are people who are well-acquainted with the relationship of the Kurdistan Region and the United States,” Outzen said.

“If Washington is weak on Iran,” he continued, “it’s bad for the Kurdistan Region. So I think the fact that this administration is going to come in with its eyes wide open about what Iran has done to Iraq and how it’s tried to destabilize the Kurdistan Region, then I think when you look at the personnel, this Trump administration is going to be much better and much more constructive in maintaining that relationship.”

Outzen acknowledged that the U.S. was not perfect in upholding commitments to its partners and allies, citing Afghanistan as an example. But, in general, including with regard to the Kurdistan Region, he said, “there will be a strong commitment, not only to serve U.S. interests, but also to work to strengthen our allies.”