bricks87

I live in Iraqi Kurdistan and I heard that several people had told you not to go camping in the area in which you camped in due to how close it is to the Iranian border. Is that true?

It's very good Obama authorized airstrikes in the region. Honestly so far it has not been enough but I understand the reasoning behind not getting fully involved again. But it really is needed. The KRG is a completely different area in Iraq supporting western values and is moving towards being a full democracy, it needs to be supported. To help in the humanitarian crisis donate to international agencies like the UN, NRC, DRC, and others, who are operating in the region. The humanitarian situation is a disaster. There are now 1.5 million refugees in the region, out of a total population of 5 million Kurds.

Also check out the RISE foundation http://rise-foundation.org/ who are very effective at short term intervention. They'll take your money and spend it that month and you can see the difference it has made. Larger organizations sustain a very large administration presence and its hard to see the direct difference your money makes.

Right now as of the past few hours things are looking a bit better in the KRG (very short term), as the Peshmerga have taken back Makhmour, Gwer, which are cities 30km south of Erbil. The last cities before the city. But long term its a disaster. The international community needs to provide weapons, humanitarian aid and logistical support to the Kurds in Iraq, the idea that the Kurds shouldn't be provided these weapons because it affects the unity of Iraq is invalid. ISIS has established themselves and they're indoctrinating the next generation of children towards their fucked up ideology. Watch the latest vice news documentary, it is terrifying.

In terms of regional stability its going to be tough, the Arab spring has been taken advantage of by radical Islamist groups, who were suppressed during the dictatorships, to build a presence in the region and they have been successful in doing so. It will take a long time to stabilize the region.

Also democracies aren't created easily. Even the 11 years Iraq has been 'democratic' is nothing compared to the hundreds of years it took European and North American democracies to be established. It will take a long time here, we are going through the struggles those countries went through and its not pretty, but hopefully it'll come through.

Honestly not trying to get into a Palestinian/Israeli argument. There is a lot of media advocating for both sides. Not very interested in reading it all. It's a historical fight and I can't give support to a side in that fight. Again it has no relation to what this AMA is about.

No, honestly I just was looking at the AMA and that guy and he was incapable of answering many questions, also he fled from Erbil during the 'panic', which was just a panic and Erbil was never going to fall.