Dana Nawzar

Kurdish leadership has learnt a lot post-ISIS. It tells a lot about their capacity & calibre that it took them so long to understand how things work but better late than never Only problem is the envy, jelousy & rivalry between the 2 families. It may ruin everything in a second

Barzani has learnt in the last 2 years more than what he has learnt since the establishment of Mahabad Republic -the day he was born- KDP sources also say Barzani had tough negotiations with Pompeo and only decided not to attend parliament session after 2 long callshttps://twitter.com/masoud_barzani/status/1214602424062816258…

I hope I am wrong but what is going on doesn’t look like dealing with a single assassination issue. The extremists in US administration led by a showman are keen on a war which satisfies their Armageddon fantasies Irony is Iran’s regime is entirely based on that notion.

Iran and its proxies would have had to respect and deal with a united strong Sunni alliance. Iran wasn’t happy but they were pragmatic enough to deal with the new reality. It was the small-minded owners of Gulf’s skyscrapers who destroyed that dream.

Had the Arab Spring succeeed, we would have had a Democratic MENA united through our shared heritage. Turkey, Egypt, Syria would have had leading roles. Who desoryed that dream? The fat asses of Gulf whose export to the West is oil and to Middle East chaos and death.

Yes, the ‘Sunni world’ is in disarray. And you know who is the number one cause? The cradle of our religion & civilisation They exported a fringe Sunni interpretation as long as they could & now are fighting mainstream Sunnism with Mckinsy Islam, spreading death & chaos.

Those using sectarian language anytime there is a political event are either the pseudo-Sunni supremacists who can change mood from Uruba to patriotism to Sunnism in a heartbeat or are some teens grown up in the West and only thing they know about real world is Twitter.

Politics is much more complicated than narrow sectarian, ethnic & religious views. There is no Shia Iran vs Sunni other. When we Iraqi Kurds, 90% Sunni, got bombarded, displaced, the only country that embraced us was Iran. The Sunni world was busy praising Saddam at the time!

I can’t but imagine that during our golden days when we were pioneers in sciences and philosophy with one of the strongest militaries in the world, we had a healthier social system as well. Khwarizmi, Ibn Sina, Rumi And Farabi were born out of a healthy social & political system

Had not been for the great faith and the strong social bonds, which are now being systemically attacked, middle east would not have survived. The last 100 years have given birth to generations of broken people. World won’t know peace for many more years to come.

I am no Fruedian but I strongly believe many underlying causes of many social and political problems in Middle East are rooted in our childhood. Violence both as a political and social system gives birth to distorted mindsets. And most of us in ME have experienced both as a kid.

I enjoy listening to English moms talking to their kids. I like the tone. The content is appropriate for a kid but the tone is that of an adult. Shouting to kids, giving orders, ‘the I am adult I know more than you’ tones gives birth to generations of people who can’t talk.

Economic sanction on an entire nation due to political differences with the ruling regime is the most barbaric form of punishment in 21st century. We didn’t deserve it in the 1990s, Iranians don’t deserve it now. No one deserves it ever.

Last but not least, the remaining youth will join any suicidal project with fancy promises. Those who still halfwittedly think it was Ibn Taimiya’s fatawah which gave birth to ISIS wouldn’t get this but the region will be filled with ISISes, much scarier,ruthless, more popular.

What does sanctions on Iraq mean? - Starvation & death of children - Oil lord-smugglers, businessmen-politicians become richer - Immigration in millions toward Europe - Iraq to depend entirely on Turkey & Iran - Kurdistan Region goes back to 1990s: poor, divided & dependant

Sometimes as things get too dull, too dramatic or too hurtful on Earth, a simple look up to the skies brings relief. Soul doesn’t like to be confined and sky provided that breadth of space. وَإِلَى السَّمَاءِ كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ

Fun fact: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the current supreme leader of Iran, is the Persian translator of Sayyid Qutb’s works including Fi Dhilal.

Believe me, we have seen it before. Saddam killed us and you imposed sanctions on us in the name of punishing Saddam. He thrived and we starved. I spit on the international order which sees this normal.https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/1213996585882914818…

As long as we don’t have a home with a stable political regime that can represent the values, aspirations of the people and embrace its sons and daughters, we will be what we are now: analysts whose greatest skill is crying at our pain and laughing at others’ misery.

Say whatever you like about Iran, but they have managed to create a regime which has popular support -not all but many- & respects its heros. We are experts in assassinating the character of the few good apples we have. No home to belong to, divided, weak & only good at Talking

Most Middle East nations are run by autocrats who have nothing in common with their people. And whenever there are leaders who do represent their people, they are demonised, alienated and die either in prisons or in gallows.

Compare what Iranians do for Soleimani, regardless of what you think of him, to how most Middle East nation treat their heros. Nations that appreciate leaders who make sacrifice will flourish. Those that only praise for fear or favour are doomed to be ruled by scumbags.

Iraqis don’t deserve another decade of famine and starvation because of an asshole in the White House. No one in Middle East deserves war and famine. Hasn’t time come for a collective reflection? When will enough be enough?

Today what we have is the resurgence of all pre-Arab Spring conflicts and the consolidation of power by more dictators. While each country is being threatened with war and sanctions by superpowers. All weak, all powerless and only brave when fighting each other.

MENA could have come together in a democratic union based on our shared heritage, mutual economic & political interest. Arab Spring was just the right moment to achieve that. We will never forgive or forget those who aborted that dream.

Paul Bremer, the American ruler of Iraq after 2003, had met Masoud Barzani for first time, he saw a big picture on the wall. He had asked, ‘who is this gentleman?’ Barzani replied, ‘That is my father’ The guy they sent rule Iraq didn’t know who Mullah Mustafa Barzani was lol

Masculinity in Middle East is not the same Jordan Petersonian one in the West. Men show emotions, kiss and hug each other. As for Iranians and Shia specifically, crying together in public on specific dates is a form of worship. Americans need to catch up.

Americans, clueless as always about the nations they bombard, are surprised by the Iranian funeral scenes. They aren’t used to men let alone men in high positions of power cry in public. They think Iranians are going through a nervous breakdown

Saudi-UAE have been the single biggest obstacle in front of the birth of any real representative Sunni axis. They killed that dream when they destroyed the Arab Spring dreams and spread chaos across the region They can’t protect their asses let alone being custodians of Sunnis.

In the past, the Saudi state did sponsor an extremist interpretation of Islam which basically excludes everyone from Islam except a small bunch. But today, they have changed their mind. They are busy implementing Mckinsy Islam. So at least spare us the sectarianism.

One can say whatever he likes about Soleimani and Iran without turning it into a sectarian issue. If Soleimani is hated for supporting Assad then why they are rushing to normalise ties with Assad himself?

The Saudi leadership is shitting themselves, trying to not look happy and sending delegations to DC & London asking for deescalation. But they have set their troll armies to spread filthy sectarian discourse in every space. Spare us your fake concerns for Sunnis. No one buys it

Trump may hit Iran not for strategic reasons but because he is gutted his funeral will never be this big. Tehran, today.https://twitter.com/FarsNews_Agency/status/1214080723537272833…

At the public level too, there is very little outrage against the attendance of the Kurdish parties at the Soleimani funeral. The irony is Iran/Soleimani has done more to harm Iraqi Kurdish dreams for independence than anyone else. But Iran does it quietly, calmly & with a smile.

Soleimani’s personal networks, friendships and history play a big role here. But it is more than that. Unlike other regional players like Turkey, Iran doesn’t leave things for fate. They achieve behind the scenes & through diplomacy and depend less on crude military power.

Certainly, there is lots of balancing going on as all the parties have excellent relationship with the US too. But Iran’s influence in Iraq is very complicated. You wouldn’t see something like this if, for example, a Turkish official, say Hakan Fidan, was killed in such manner.

Iranian influence in Iraq goes way beyond the sectarian divide. Iran is a liked, respect and feared power in Iraq all at the same time. Every Kurdish party & many senior & junior officials attended Soleimani’s funeral ceremonies at Iranian consulate, described him as martyr.

Even today, as many Iraqi politicians are worriedly watching what is coming next, they can’t make any clear moves to the US camp. They know Iran is there to stay while US is a mad donkey that can shoot and leave any moment. Soleimani’s death won’t be the end of Iran’s hegemony.

Iraqi politicians and others know the balance of power but a call from Pompeo doesn’t have the same weight as a face to face meeting with Soleimani. Now Soleimani is gone. Iranian diplomacy hasn’t. What is nowhere to be seen is a tangible US diplomacy. All twitter and calls.

Iran is deep down the throat of Iraqi politics. Iranian officials even call TV stations when they don’t like something aired. But Soleimani wanted beyond that. Imagine, he won Barzani over again even after what Soleimani did to him in Kirkuk.