Gulan: The arrival of al Qaeda to Iraq after US army

The text in Kurdish.

When I write these lines it is not yet clear which group is behind last week's suicide bomb attack against the Kurdish Yazidi community in Gir Uzeir and Siba Sheikh Khidir. There are rumours about al Qaeda, others speak about Syrian involvement in the attack and some others connect it to Kerkuk, article 140 and the fact that there is not so much time left to the 31st December of this year.

I consider now the first possibility, al Qaeda. Despite there is no evidence that it was behind this attack, its influence is growing in Iraq. I repeat that with this analysis I do not claim that al Qaeda was behind the attack against the Yazidis.

The Iraq war is everyday in the headlines of European newspapers but most people have forgotten why it started. President George W. Bush was sure Saddam Hussein's army has weapons for mass destructions despite the UN survey team Unmovic led by Hans Blix did not find any evidence of them in spring 2003. Also President Bush claimed that Saddam had been some how involved in the September 11th attacks in US.

During the last four years American soldiers have not found any biological, chemical or other mass destruction weapons. Also it has became clear that al Qaeda did not exist in Iraq. I mean, before the American army entered there. After the arrival of Americans also al Qaeda started building its networks in Iraq. Now it makes its invisible strongholds stronger day by day. There is a real danger that when American soldiers one day return home their inheritance in Iraq will be al Qaeda.

When the soft partition of Iraq continues the Shiia South and the Kurdish North have clear perspective. The identity of the people in these areas is based on religion or ethnicity. And the economy is in order thanks to oil. For them autonomy or independence is a step to a better future.

But in the middle, in the Sunni Arab areas, the situation is different. Their previous well being was based on the oppression of the north and the south. What is left when it is taken away? Frustration, lack of oil and poverty. Good basis for al Qaeda type bitterness. Remember the Taleban movement was not built on Afghan traditions despite it describes itself as a religious movement. Maybe the Sunni Arab area will turn into a similar area controlled by hate, fear and self-made interpretations of Islam.

If anything positive can be said in connection to last week's horrible attack, it is that happened outside the KRG area. The Kurdish autonomous area is peaceful and the regional government is working hard to hinder terrorism arriving there. So it is easy to guess how the people of Kerkuk and the near by areas will vote in the referendum.

Two weeks ago Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went to Ankara. According to the media in his meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayipp Erdogan the main topic was PKK. It should have been al Qaeda which is the real danger to both the countries. Iraq and Turkey and whole the world should make cooperation against this threat.