Interests, political realities form US ties with Kurds: expert

<p style="text-align: left;">A political expert believes Kurds dream the US as a better ally but Washington relation with the Kurds is based on the US interests and its political realities.

Patrick James, an expert on Canada, Middle East conflict and U.S. politics and the dean's Professor of International Relations, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences told Kurdpress in an interview that the US has been in Iraq since 2003 but its presence has not been very welcomed and many US soldiers were killed in Iraq since the year.

What follows is Professor Patrick James&rsquo; answers to Kurdpress questions;

Do you think that by defeating ISIS, we will see an end to the wars in Iraq?

In a word: no. The US invasion of Iraq disturbed a very complex situation in the region as a whole. The Bush 43 administration, in particular, did not understand that sending a limited occupation force simply would produce chaos and violence for many years to come in Iraq. We still are living with the poor judgment of Rumsfeld in particular; military people and civilian experts warned that an occupation force would need to be so much larger than the one that invaded.

Can the U.S put end to wars in Iraq or it is a part of the conflicts in this country?

The US is the greatest military power in the world. But at times there is a mistaken belief that military prowess is enough to generate stability and, more ambitiously, control. As the saying went at the time of the invasion of Iraq, the US did not understand very well the country it now was trying to occupy. It was the same lesson as Vietnam, in some ways, just with very different terrain.

How long U.S forces will be in Iraq? Can Iraqis manage the conflicts or they will need U.S help?

It is impossible to say how long US forces might stay. A stable government that commands respect from a sufficient number of citizens in Iraq cannot be propped up from the outside. It must come from within. Iraq in some ways is an artificial state, with borders that reflect prior great power politics. It is not easy for a government to build legitimacy when significant numbers of people do not really identify with the state in a meaningful way.

Some political forces want to kick out foreign forces mostly U.S forces through parliament, is it possible?

I would guess this is unlikely to happen. In some contexts, and this may be one of them, US forces may be valued because they become part of the local economy.

The U.S is building its biggest consulate in Erbil and its forces are very active in the Kurdistan Region, how do you access this?

A possibility would be that the Kurds are believed by the US leadership to be more sympathetic to its cause, but that might be wishful thinking. US engagement with Kurdish peoples has tended to be realpolitik and self-serving. Kurdish people obviously resent the fact that they are quite numerous and still do not have a state. Consider that continuing fact in light of so much prior US involvement in various countries such as Iraq and Iran.

Reporter&rsquo;s code: 50101

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