Kirkuk I.

This is coolbert:

The Kurds and their ways! Hold the presses!

It doesn't get much worse than this. At the exact wrong moment trouble fomenting where no trouble is needed.

As is the headline in the proverbial nutshell from the Wall Street Journal today:

* "Iraqi forces clashed with fighters from the Kurdish semi-autonomous region near the oil-rich province of Kirkuk."

Further an index the topic of the Kurdish peshmerga and Iraqi National Army units at odds even to extent of mortal combat:

1. "Iraqi troops clash with Kurds in effort to gain control of oil-rich Kirkuk ..."

"10 hours ago - Iraq's national army advanced overnight and took areas in and around the oil city of Kirkuk that is usually dominated by the country's Kurdish ..."

2. "LIVE: Iraqi forces, Shiite militia engage in fighting with Peshm - Rudaw"

"5 hours ago - “Trying to seize the will of the people of Iraqi Kurdistan using military .... in Kirkuk amid clashes between Peshmerga forces and Iraqi army, ..."

3. "U.S. military says clash between Iraq, Kurdish forces is a ..."

"14 hours ago - Iraqi federal forces entered disputed territory held by Kurds early Monday, seeking to end a nearly month-old political fight over areas taken ..."

4. "Kirkuk: Iraqi forces capture key sites from Kurds - BBC News - BBC.com"

"Iraqi forces move on Kurdish-controlled areas, weeks after the region voted to ... Baghdad said the Peshmerga had withdrawn 'without fighting', but clashes were ... Earlier, the Iraqi military announced that elite units had been 're-deployed' at ..."

5. "Peshmerga: Baghdad to pay heavy price for declaring war"

"The Kurdish Peshmerga command has said the Iraqi government will pay a 'heavy price' for its military campaign in Kirkuk, which it described as 'a declaration of war against the nation of Kurdistan'."

Conspiracy and intrigue of a global grand-strategy geo-political are at work here? This needs to be played out and I fear for the worse and in short order too! Stand by everyone. Hold on to your hats!

coolbert.