Rice Snubbed By Kurdish Leader

BBC News is reporting that Massoud Barzani, the head of Iraq's Kurdish regional government, has refused to meet the US Secretary of State because of the US position on Turkish cross-border raids.

Speaking to reporters in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, said its president had refused to meet Ms Rice because of Washington's tolerance of the recent Turkish raids.

"It is unacceptable that the United States, in charge of monitoring our airspace, authorised Turkey to bomb our villages."
Nechirvan Barzani
PM, Kurdish Regional Government

"It was decided that Massoud Barzani would go to Baghdad to take part in a meeting with Condoleezza Rice and other officials, but he will not go now as a sign of protest against the American position on the bombings by Turkey," he said.

"It is unacceptable that the United States, in charge of monitoring our airspace, authorised Turkey to bomb our villages," he added.

Is this what is meant by 'diplomatic pressure'? It appears we don't have enough clout to make any change in this region. I agree that there is an expectation that the United States will not allow Turkey to make incursions of a more serious nature in favor of it's tinhorn, root'n'tootin' shootout in Iraq. I think people in Kurdish Iraq have about had enough.

What I can't figure out is where this country can possibly go from here in this stalemate. Turkey is a NATO ally, should we be alarmed at the possibility of further erosion?

I think so.