The Kurdish wife of Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid – Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed has publicly opposed any potential offensive by Kurdish fighters in Iran, DPA reported, BTA reported.
“Leave the Kurds alone. We are not weapons for hire“, Ibrahim Ahmed said. “Too often they remember Kurds only when their strength or sacrifice is needed. “It is very difficult, if not impossible, for Kurds to accept being treated as pawns by the world's superpowers“, she added in Ex.
The comment came amid reports that US President Donald Trump has explored the possibility of enlisting Iraqi Kurds to launch a ground offensive into Iran. Trump has held phone calls with several Kurdish leaders and, according to a report by the “Washington Post“, has offered US air support.
Ibrahim Ahmed recalled how, after the First Gulf War (1990-1991), then-US President George H. W. Bush called on the Kurds to rise up against Saddam Hussein in Iraq, “only to be abandoned when priorities changed“. Tens of thousands were killed during those uprisings.
She also pointed to “Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria, who had long fought alongside the US against “Islamic State“ fighters, but ultimately lost Washington“s support“.