The Telegraph says that Saddam has threatened the Kurds with gas in the event of a US advance.

You know, the stuff he says he doesn't have.

I guess the Kurdish singer mentioned in the article is not part of the Kurdish Actor/Singer Glitterati against war with Saddam. Don't these poor women know if they go to war someone will be hurt or killed. And what about the poor dokeys and camels they use for carrying their personal gear? Surely they will see the insanity of forcing poor draft animals to join in this un-needed fight if they will only talk to Mike Farrell or Martin Sheen!!

Can the UN be any more obtuse? The whistling past the graveyard is getting a little old...

Ya know, this is something the peaceniks prefer not to discuss. I've met the Kurds. They were all over eastern Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the southern former Soviet republics. They're (generally) good folks who want to live. Saddam has other plans. He has gassed them several times in the past and clearly aims to do so again -- with weapons he claims he doesn't have, by the way. I've seen the chemical burns on their faces and exposed skin as they fled into Turkey from northern Iraq. But no, this isn't our war. Give peace a chance. Saddam will behave.

My brother who lives on a farm told me a story about a neighbor's wild dogs attacking him on several occasions. On one particular occasion they nearly surrounded as he was walking toward his house. He called for his wife to toss him a gun from inside the house. She did and he used it. No more dog problem.

I don't like war. My friends are there now and more are leaving as we speak. Some may not return. But they're doing the right thing by going over to take out a madman.

My question is, why don't the Kurds get their own homeland? And why does Turkey get to make the call?

Anarchus, even a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. We may be able to carve out a Kurdish homeland from the frontier of Iraq and Turkey.

If, and I repeat if, we can start to educate and bolster the poorer countries of the middle east we can achieve peace. Shut down the Wahabist schools and set up governments where freedom of religion is possible and probable.

Also, bolster to me does not mean GIVE THEM MONEY!! If we build wells for drinking water and irrigation, they will be far better off than they are now. If we give them seed for planting, animals for livestock, etc. things will get better. Things will be better especially because we are about to remove the thorn from their sides.

And the money for this aid project comes from the OIL under Iraq. The issue here has never been the oil, its about who controls the oil at present, and what he does with the profits from that oil.

Anarchus: the unfortunate reality is that southern Turkey has a large segment of somewhat rebellious Kurds who want to break away and form an independent nation. They would be very likely to join with the Iraqi kurds--especially if the Kurds had an independent homeland.

The Turks don't want to lose that part of Turkey. They have substantial economic reasons, as well as national pride reasons, to keep southern Turkey in Turkish hands.

While it hasn't been talked about much, it's pretty clear that one of the "non-negotiable" conditions the Turks want to impose on us in exchange for permission to launch attacks from Turkish bases is that we prevent the Kurds from having a separate state. This sucks. It means that, in order to get what we need strategically, we have to sell the Kurds short.

It's a damned shame, really, but I'm not sure we have a whole lot of choice. I really feel for the Kurds but they aren't going to get a lot of what they want, I fear.

Except freedom from Saddam, Which is still worth a lot I'd say.

> While it hasn't been talked about much, it's pretty clear that one of the "non-negotiable" conditions the Turks want to impose on us in exchange for permission to launch attacks from Turkish bases is that we prevent the Kurds from having a separate state. This sucks. It means that, in order to get what we need strategically, we have to sell the Kurds short.

And, now that we're not getting what we want, that's a great reason to give the Turks what they don't want.

The world needs fewer countries where one group violently oppresses another. Partition is the answer.