Tuesday, June 22, 2004

In this New Yorker article, Seymour Hersh discusses how the destabilization of Iraq has changed the regional politics of the Middle East. According to Hersh, "Israeli intelligence and military operatives are now quietly at work in Kurdistan, providing training for Kurdish commando units and, most important in Israel’s view, running covert operations inside Kurdish areas of Iran and Syria." These Israeli operations with the Kurds have "provoked bitter statements from Turkish politicians and, in a major regional shift, a new alliance among Iran, Syria, and Turkey, all of which have significant Kurdish minorities."