Shia and Sunnis in Iraq unite to criticize Kurdish region of Iraq

[ck4829]

Iraqi lawmakers across a wide political spectrum chastised what they claim is overreaching by the Kurdish north, issuing a declaration Sunday opposing the self-ruled region's foreign oil deals and its ambitions in the disputed city of Kirkuk.

The declaration avoided mentioning the Kurdish government by name, but could create a new source of tension between Sunni Arab, Shiite and Kurdish groups, especially because a major Shiite party is now lobbying for the creation in southern Iraq of a self-ruled region modeled after the Kurdish one.

"There must be a formula for maintaining the unity of Iraq and the distribution of its wealth," said secular lawmaker Osama al-Nijifi, reading from the declaration at a news conference. "Oil and gas are a national wealth and we are concerned about those who want to go it alone when it comes to signing deals," he said.

The Kurds are a key group within the governing coalition and have been Washington's most reliable allies in Iraq. Since the ouster of Saddam Hussein they have forged a close relationship with the majority Shiites.

But recent assertive acts by the Kurds, such as the refusal to fly the Iraqi national flag in the region, have irritated the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad along with many Sunni Arabs. Many see such gestures and the recent oil deals as a threat to national unity.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080113/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[Warren Stupidity]

1. That would be the one thing they can agree on.

As usual, the Kurds are expendable. Plus they will get support from Iran, Turkey, and Syria, all of whom have a nasty Kurd problem as well.