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A Kurdistan flag flutters from the newly constructed Neshteman mall in Erbil, Iraq. (Archives)
Last update - 10:51 13/08/2007
Kurds build an island of calm in the inferno of Iraq
By Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel, U.S., Iraq, Kurds

SULAIMANIYA, Northern Iraq - Unlike many other Iraqi cities, Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, has seen very few terrorist attacks since civil war broke out following the U.S. invasion in 2003 and the subsequent execution of Saddam, Iraq's former dictator.

The Kurdish area, located in the north, relies on its defense forces to keep it that way.

In Kurdistan, people still walk through the streets and go to shops with little fear of the lethal car bombings that afflict the rest of the country. Foreigners are not an uncommon sight. The Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya, for example, is quite calm despite its proximity to the inferno in Mosul. Nor is it far away from Kirkuk, whose streets are regularly ripped apart by explosions.
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The Iraqi Civil Defense Corps commander for one of the quarters of Erbil made one simple request at the start of our conversation. "Don't call me a 'security officer.' The word 'security' is enough to make peoples' skins crawl around here. It reminds them of Saddam Hussein's days in power: torture cellars and arrests. I am serving the public by protecting them, and that's the way I wish to be described."

From Sulaimaniya, families go on holidays to nearby Azmar Mountain. There, they barbecue meat, make salads, have beers and enjoy the sun. Each family pulls over by the road to admire the view. The atmosphere is quite calm; no nervous honks disturb the still of the Friday afternoon. The revelers stay late, untouched by the sectarian flames that are engulfing the rest of their country.

I arranged to interview a senior official in the Kurdistan Regional Government, who wished to remain anonymous. "We have problems with the Arabs," he explained his request for anonymity. "Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians are allowed to speak to the Israelis, but not us: They immediately accuse us of treason. 'The other Israel,' that's how they call us."

When I asked how the government managed to disassociate the region from the violence and establish an island of peace there, the official replied that it is all about people. "The people themselves are our security, and I don't mean just the security forces, but the whole Kurdish people. We all act as scouts, informers, inspectors and watchmen, because we realize that our lives depend on it."

Later, I toured Erbil with Heiman, an official from the Foreign Relations Department. Before we visited Erbil's Jewish quarter, Heiman warned me about taking pictures. "There are lots of undercover policemen around, and we don't want them asking questions. Also, be careful not to take pictures of women," he instructed me.

A veteran Kurdistani intelligence official told me how the regional government protects Erbil from suicide bombers. It is a simple solution, almost medieval, but it seems to be working. "Erbil is flat, and has access roads leading to it from all directions. So we went ahead with a simple solution: We dug a moat around the city, 91 kilometers in diameter. We made it three meters wide and three meters deep, so no car can get into the city unless it takes the regulated roads."

The intelligence operative compared the Kurdish solution for Erbil to Israel's barrier for stopping suicide bombers. "You guys built a protective wall that everybody can see and make a fuss about. We dug our moat in two months; it's not as conspicuous and it's much more effective."

And what about the land owners? Legal battles? Compensation issues? "The people who owned the land we needed to expropriate for the moat volunteered their plots. They know it's needed for their security."

But the moat is not the only security measure barring the way of potential terrorists. All non-Kurds who wish to enter Kurdistan need a Kurd to vouch for them. Otherwise, they are refused entrance. Those who vouch for visitors must call the security forces in advance and inform them of the purpose of the visit and the visitor's identity. Even then, visitors are subject to strict inspection.

The intelligence official told of cases in which wives informed security about their husbands, or parents told the police they suspected their children of terrorist activity. "We're like that when it comes to security. It's something that runs through our veins, like with you Israelis," he explained.

Security, however, comes at a price. Defense guzzles up a significant portion of Kurdistan's budget, which is comprised of 17 percent of the Iraqi government's revenues. Moreover, the separation from the rest of the Iraqi population, a move dictated by security requirements, has in many respects effectively severed Kurdistan from Iraq. Washington is probably the only place in the world where Iraq is referred to as a single entity.
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  1.   I know propaganda when I read it 03:24  |  Mark Lincoln 13/08/07
  2.   No thanks to the"humanitarians" in this world 03:54  |  PETER SM 13/08/07
  3.   iraq kurds 04:02  |  omar alsayad 13/08/07
  4.   Thanks from Iranians 05:36  |  Joe 13/08/07
  5.   Mark Lincoln 05:45  |  Lynn 13/08/07
  6.   The Kurds, a non Arab people for who the Arabs have denied their 06:44  |  Avihu 13/08/07
  7.   #5, Lynn 07:08  |  Hannah 13/08/07
  8.   The Kurds should have a state 07:50  |  Ken Jurist 13/08/07
  9.   Kurds 08:16  |  lakshmi 13/08/07
  10.   Kurds are the only Muslims in the ME deserving their own country 08:44  |  Genuine Tosefta 13/08/07
  11.   Somone does not want war there 09:04  |  isratinian 13/08/07
  12.   FREE KURDISTAN!!! 09:17  |  don 13/08/07
  13.   #1 MARK WHAT IS THE DIFFICULTY IN AN INDEPENDENT KURDISTAN 10:19  |  paul harris 13/08/07
  14.   $11 Isratinian 11:13  |  Willy 13/08/07
  15.   What are these Kruds up to 11:32  |  Hannah 13/08/07
  16.   The Arab world and the Muslim world dont want a Kurdish state 11:58  |  Mike Kelso 13/08/07
  17.   YOU DONT HAVE A BREAD TO EAT IN ISRAEL ! 12:08  |  Atilla Karagozoglu 13/08/07
  18.   Kurds are natural allies for Israel 12:23  |  Hannah 13/08/07
  19.   SULAIMANIYA FOR ANOTHER EXPERIMENT 12:28  |  indrajaya 13/08/07
  20.   selling is Jews best job ! 12:30  |  Atilla Karagozoglu 13/08/07
  21.   Break Arab Muslim Hegemony. 12:32  |  SM 13/08/07
  22.   # 6 avihu 12:35  |  Axel 13/08/07
  23.   # 10 genuine tosefta 12:38  |  Axel 13/08/07
  24.   #1 12:45  |  Alan 13/08/07
  25.   all the good people 12:46  |  Axel 13/08/07
  26.   Liman the Greek (not the Hun): The Turks are best at oppression 13:11  |  Genuine Tosefta 13/08/07
  27.   While denying Kurdish rights for one country Arabs want a 23rd 13:18  |  Genuine Tosefta 13/08/07
  28.   Salah Eddin al-Ayyubi 13:19  |  Historian 13/08/07
  29.   We are Muslims, too! 13:24  |  Kurdi 13/08/07
  30.   Atilla 13:58  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 13/08/07
  31.   # 27 tosefta 14:27  |  Axel 13/08/07
  32.   MARGİE BARBİE ! read please 14:29  |  Atilla Karagozoglu 13/08/07
  33.   Hey margie ! 14:30  |  Atilla Karagozoglu 13/08/07
  34.   Margie :) 14:37  |  Liman 13/08/07
  35.   margie ! 14:42  |  atilie 13/08/07
  36.   Atilla 14:58  |  Margie 13/08/07
  37.   Axel, most Kurds have lived under Arab control, Iraq and Syrian, 15:14  |  Avihu 13/08/07
  38.   #25 Axel, my friend, you know the problem 15:15  |  17 13/08/07
  39.   A free Kurdistan 15:28  |  Terminator 13/08/07
  40.   Kurdish practicallity versus current Israeli leftist responses. 15:55  |  common sense 13/08/07
  41.   Shari`ia Law? 15:59  |  Akiva Patysh 13/08/07
  42.   # 37 avihu 16:04  |  Axel 13/08/07
  43.   # 38 16:07  |  Axel 13/08/07
  44.   you help the PKK, now watch what will happen to Kurds 16:15  |  mehmet 13/08/07
  45.   Israel, US and Turkish money bosses 16:19  |  mehmet 13/08/07
  46.   Saddam Hussein and the Kurds 16:35  |  Dagma 13/08/07
  47.   # 44 mehmet 16:45  |  Lynn 13/08/07
  48.   To Mehmet: Kurdish Problem, Issue or... 16:52  |  Fatih 13/08/07
  49.   # 41 akiva 16:54  |  Axel 13/08/07
  50.   Axel 16:58  |  Asaf Noyman 13/08/07
  51.   #44 SAME AS HAPPENED IN CYPRUS MEHMET 17:09  |  paul harris 13/08/07
  52.   Mark Lincom ,Turkey is a criminal country 17:11  |  Viken 13/08/07
  53.   Stop resisting! 17:13  |  Coward Lamb 13/08/07
  54.   # 50 asaf 17:27  |  Axel 13/08/07
  55.   To Dagma in Tel-Aviv 17:45  |  Historian 13/08/07
  56.   To Viken 17:54  |  Fatih 13/08/07
  57.   Advice to the Kurds 18:10  |  Danite 13/08/07
  58.   persident of Turkey Turgut Ozal was Kurdish 18:15  |  mehmet 13/08/07
  59.   we do not have a technion 18:19  |  mehmet 13/08/07
  60.   Mehmet - I agree mostly with you but not all. 18:47  |  David Israel 13/08/07
  61.   How is full of liesssssss ,fatti 18:52  |  Viken 13/08/07
  62.   Mehmet - Do youknow the saying? 19:06  |  David Israel 13/08/07
  63.   You Said It, Mark #1 19:24  |  Bram Devlin 13/08/07
  64.   Viken - Fatih - Mehmet 19:52  |  David Israel 13/08/07
  65.   Axel, the Kurds for many decades just wanted independence from 20:14  |  Asaf Noyman 13/08/07
  66.   Kurdistan. The next Middle East war, that all should expect. 20:34  |  Toronto`s Finest 13/08/07
  67.   Reparations 20:40  |  me 13/08/07
  68.   We are not dust 20:54  |  me 13/08/07
  69.   Atilla! 21:00  |  Sean