Diplomat Says Kurds Stand For Tolerance, Need Help Against ISIS

An Iraqi Kurdish diplomat is calling for more Western military help to defeat Islamic State forces. Karwan Jamal Tahir, who was named the Kurdistan Regional Government representative to the United Kingdom in May, noted that ISIS was stretching its global reach with attacks in Kuwait, Tunisia and France as well as Iraq and Syria.

Tahir said in an article published in the Guardian that the Kurds promote women’s rights and root their patriotism in a pluralist definition of tolerance. “Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but we positively celebrate being home to Shia Muslims, Christians, Yezidis and others,” he wrote. “Sadly, our Jewish compatriots left many years ago thanks to a fascistic mindset throughout Iraq’s history, which did us all great damage.”

Tahir complained that Baghdad was treating Sunni Arabs and Kurds as second-class citizens. He suggested that the Shiite-dominated Iraq government use the rights promised by its constitution to offer an alternative to ISIS.

Meanwhile, FBI Director James Comey, speaking in Aspen, Colorado, Wednesday, said ISIS is now a bigger threat within the United States than al Qaeda, the Aspen Times reported. He praised the U.S. military for killing the Khorasan Group of al-Qaida leader Mushin al Fadhli in Syria, saying the action it had diminished terror threats “significantly” in the U.S.

Comey said he was particularly worried about how ISIS had been able to use social media. The militant group has been able to cause a “significant increase” in the number of terror attacks with such means, he said.

Tahir, on the other hand, complained that Baghdad was treating Sunni Arabs and Kurds as second-class citizens. He suggested that the Shiite-dominated Iraq government use the democratic and federal constitution to offer an alternative to ISIS forces.