Chapter 9: Kurds, Assyrians and Turkmens

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The deal had been operational for a few months. In fact the Americans had already started setting up the above ground facilities in their new small military base near Basra. I had been told that there were already two squads of American troops living out of tents on the base overseeing the work done by the US army construction team as well as the Shia construction company that was connecting the base to the Basra oil field via a paved and metalled road.

The domestic reaction to the oil deal was better than I had expected. Most people feared Saddam so I heard murmurs of resentment but nothing substantial. The cash payouts had worked like a charm in the South, the Shia leaders were well incentivized their cadres from reacting to the news of the deal. The Americans also helped the process by beginning the work to upgrade Basra port concurrently with their port. That meant suddenly hundreds of new jobs opened up for local Iraqi Shia young men. I mean in direct terms that's a few hundred less potential militants/rebels. In indirect terms it created hope that there would be more jobs and more American money flowing into the common mans pockets. The thing is everyone 'hates' America but everyone secretly loves the American dream.

The bigger problem was in the Kirkuk governorate specifically with the Kurds. I had hoped to engage in some hardcore corruption based diplomacy with the Iraqi Kurdish leader Mustafa Burzani who was known to be as tribal and cash hungry as any Sunni or Shia. But the old man died of cancer in exile in Tehran just earlier that year. His successor was his thirty something son Masoud. When I found out that the new leader of the Kurds was a young guy I instantly knew there would be trouble. After all as a new young leader you have to earn your stripes and what's the best way to show how big your balls are in Iraq? Go toe to toe with Saddam.

"Your Excellency it was a no," reported Kamal over the phone. He was in Erbil, the unofficial capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. I had sent him there a week earlier as my personal emissary to feed young Barzani some cash and get his tacit support for my future actions in his region. The facilities of the Kirkuk oil fields would have to be upgraded but more importantly the commercial rail link I had planned as the spine of the country would effectively begin in Kurdistan. A rail line is an easy target for a militant to blow up to disrupt the economy. I needed the Kurds onboard.

"Damnit," I said in frustration over the phone, "what exactly did the fucker say to you?"

"Erm...he refused to meet me Your Excellency. He sent his reply through an aide," Kamal replied sounding embarrassed.

I cursed loudly. The constant machismo everyone felt like showing in this part of the world was beginning to grate on me. I was genuinely trying to help but young Barzani wanted a dick swinging contest.

"So it was a complete waste," I muttered.

"Well...one of the older Barzanis former aides asked to meet me later in the day," said Kamal.

"Oh?"

"Yes, he suggested that he could counsel Masoud and convince him to at least meet yourself face to face," said Kamal.

"He wants that the leader of the nation should pay a visit to a jumped up peacock?" I asked coldly.

"That's exactly what I conveyed to...I think his name was Pasha."

I thought about this Pasha's suggestion. The thing was that I always tried to keep my objectives in mind rather than my ego. It was difficult and needed constant effort but I had found in both lives that it made me much more effective than everyone around me. So as such I had no problem paying a visit to anyone no matter if I thought that they were beneath me.

But the issue here was more tactical. Like I said, this was a dick swinging contest for Masoud Barzani. I wouldn't mind giving him a political win if something productive came out of the eventual meeting. But I had my doubts. For one thing he could call me there and simply be an ass in the meeting refusing to negotiate. That would be a double win for him. And secondly if he did that I would appear very weak. And like I've mentioned many times I cant appear weak. It's a matter of life and death.

"....Your Excellency? Should I return to Baghdad?" asked Kamal. I realised I had been thinking quietly for a number of minutes.

"Hmmm...let me think"

Sometimes when the deck seems stuck and theres no way forward, it helps to shuffle things around and rotate the board so that you and your opponent see the situation from a different lens.

"Kamal I want you to go to Kirkuk," I said suddenly.

"Okay I shall, your excellency."

"Good go there and meet with the Assyrian and Turkmen leaders. I want you to splash the cash around and get them on my side. Tell them that their youths will get first right on any new construction or oil jobs that come up in the Kirkuk area."

"I can do that Your Excellency," my aide replied sounding chipper. He was an Assyrian Christian after all, so the new task would be considerably easier than the old one. I'm sure he would also be happy to send some of the oil money his community's way.

The Turkmens are a Turkic ethnic group...they came to this country a long time ago during the peak of Turkic power and flourished under the Ottomans. They actually have a slim majority in Kirkuk although overall they are a small minority in the country.

The Assyrians are supposedly the descendants of the ancient Assyrian Empire. Like really ancient. I mean genetically they're probably not very different from anyone else in the region but these supposed differences are for some reason really important to everyone. The Assyrians though tiny are majorly Christian.

The thing about these micro minorities is that they take actions very differently from the Sunnis or the Kurds who have sizable enough numbers to pursue independent policy. The micro minorities essentially try to gather in the shadow of the least intrusive big player. So in modern times when ISIL was busy brutalizing everyone who didn't follow their most terrible barbaric version of Islam, the micro minorities mainly fled to the shadow of the Kurds who were the best at fighting back against ISIL and least likely to in turn persecute them in term.

In 1979, the Assyrians are already kind of on my side. The Ba'ath party had been somewhat supportive of them in the early seventies. The Turkmen are wary of me but they've been persecuted by Kurds in distant history as well so they stay away from them as well.

Kamal called back a few days later. The Assyrians were on board with my plan almost instantly but the Turkmens were more wary. They wanted more promises that carved out a space for them and assurances that they would be protected.

"What assurances?" I asked Kamal. "Tell them that their cultural heritage will be protected and schools with majority Turkmen students will have compulsory Turkmen language lessons along side Arabic."

He called again a day later.

"Your Excellency, they are happy with the new suggestions but they still want an assurance that the Turkmen identity will be protected by law," Kamal said in an apologetic tone.

"What assurance!" I yelled in frustration. " Their identity is already recognized in the Constitution. What the fuck else do they want?"

"Your Excellency they suggested that they want a notice signed personally by you stating that they are to be protected. I tried to tell them that there is no such instrument that exists but they were adamant. I don't think they have much faith in the Constitution."

"Arrrggghhhh"

I obsessed over the Turkmen idiocy when I finally remembered that the American President is allowed to wield Executive Power through special ordinances. The ones in america can have considerable power but in this case I just needed something that looked convincing for a bunch of old men.

So that's how the Special Ordinance of 1979 was issued advising all government officials that the Turkmen identity was protected by law and discrimination against a Turkmen based on language or ethnicity was a crime.

I didn't know it at the time but this ordinance would be the first step in creating a truly united Iraq.