The Command Post - Iraq - Kurds Could Lead Iraq To Capitalism And Prosperity

May 26, 2003

Kurds Could Lead Iraq To Capitalism And Prosperity

Familiar Logo On Unfamiliar Eateries in Iraq (washingtonpost.com)

This dusty town near the Iranian border does not yet have a McDonald's. But it does have a MaDonal, as well as a Matbax, both of which sell cheeseburgers and french fries using an unmistakably familiar pair of golden arches. It is the only city in Iraq with mobile telephone service and has dozens of shops selling electronics. It has liquor stores with shelves full of Tennessee whiskey and Dutch beer, plus Internet cafes offering espresso.

This ethnically Kurdish town in the rounded mountains of northern Iraq has, in short, a thriving private economy, albeit one not fully calibrated to the finer points of international copyright. Its free-flowing, free-market ways are the result of the independence it has known for the past decade from the rule of Saddam Hussein.

Now, with Hussein gone and market forces beginning to seep into Iraq, the Kurdish areas of the north seem likely to take the lead in the development of a private sector, serving as a sort of incubator for capitalism in the rest of the country. Trading networks are already established here, with merchants well versed in how to move products into Iraq from neighboring Turkey and Iran. Goods have traveled overland the other way as well, reaching Iran after transiting here from the port of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, by way of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey.

Posted By Robert Prather (The Mind Of Man) at May 26, 2003 07:25 AM | TrackBack

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AHEM... I said this weeks ago. It'll work, I tell ya. Not only in the marketplace, either BTW. Everyone is allowed to practice their religion without fear of retribution - Jew, Christian, Muslim. Is there something wrong with that? Not that I'm aware of us. Sounds like an open society to me.

Posted by: Dave Dube at May 26, 2003 08:09 AM

I hope it works out that way. Unfortunately, Islam has little history of being able to tolerate religious freedom. At least this shows it isn't hopeless.

Posted by: Robert Prather at May 26, 2003 08:15 AM

Alternatively, watch the Turks -- and others in the area with a long-standing enmity toward Kurds.

Remember -- We said we'd ensure Iraq's territorial integrity as a fundamental premise for the attack.

Complicated place, the Middle East.

Posted by: Don at May 26, 2003 12:09 PM

Don,

BTW - Care to sing a little tune over here:

http://www.command-post.org/archives/007241.html

Your comments would be perused ALMOST instantaneously...

Posted by: Dave Dube at May 26, 2003 12:28 PM

Yes Don, remember that. Bush WILL defend Iraq's borders, so the Turks better mind their own Business. If the Turks attack the Kurds, who are Iraqi subjects, who are under USA and Brittish control, it would be considered an attack on NATO countries, a clear violation of nato rules, and would leave Turkey subject to counter attack.
They really should have took the money, because they aren't going to get the oil.

Posted by: Bubba at May 26, 2003 12:59 PM

Don ! On THIS thread, you betray your roots !

The Kurds are capable of getting along with just about everybody, Don ! Yah, right... Don't rule out them Turks, however. You keep your eye (the one good one) pealed on them Turks for us. PLEASE.

Posted by: Dave Dube at May 26, 2003 01:03 PM

All well and good, but they get too close to controlling things in Kirkuk and thats when other parties get antsy.

Posted by: TangoEchoXray at May 26, 2003 05:32 PM