Fmr. Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak Al-Rubaei: An Independent Kurdistan Will Be a Second "Malignant Virus" Israel, Will Lead to Wars

Iraqi MP and former National Security advisor Mowaffak Al-Rubaie warned that an independent Kurdistani "mini-state" would be "a second Israel planted in the region" and called to annul the referendum and its results. In an October 16 interview with the Iranian Al-Alam TV channel, Al-Rubaie called Israel a "malignant virus" that was responsible for the instability in the region and said that an independent Kurdistan would be "a source for all the troubles, problems, and wars."

Mowaffak Al-Rubaie: "Our people and the Iraqi government will not allow a second 'Israel' to be planted in the region. This referendum, initiated by [Kurdish President] Masoud Barzani, marks the beginning of the end of all the achievements of the beloved Kurdistan people. This is like playing with fire. It is very dangerous. The mini-state they want to establish in northern Iraq, in Iraqi Kurdistan, will constitute a second 'Israel,' and will be a source for all the problems in the region. It will lead to wars.

"As you know, the last state to be founded in the region was Israel in 1948. Its establishment was followed by three great wars, and because of that malignant virus, because of the existence of Israel, the region has remained unstable to this day. To plant another mini-state in the heart of the Islamic world – between Islamic Iran, Islamic Turkey, and Islamic Iraq – means that it will become a source for all the troubles, problems, and wars. The region will not become stable for decades to come, if we do not annul the referendum and its results, which was held to serve the private interests of Masoud Barzani and his family."