Kurds Campaign Thanks U.S. for Liberation

A group representing Kurdistan thanks America for liberating that nation from Saddam Hussein's dictatorship of terrorism.

"The Kurds of Iraqi Kurdistan just want to say �thank you for helping us win our freedom. Thank you for democracy. Thank you America.�

The print and broadcast advertisements are sponsored by the Kurdistan Development Corporation, an organization created by the government of Kurdistan to encourage international investment.

The ad campaign began Monday in the United States with ads in The Wall Street Journal and on Fox News Channel. Ads begin airing Nov. 14 airing in Europe.

The group describes Kurdistan as a place "where peace and prosperity have reigned since liberation from Saddam Hussein.�
Indeed, though Kurdistan contains nine percent of the total area of Iraq, not a single coalition solider has died in the territory since March 2003.

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, Chairman of the Kurdistan Development Corporation and Kurdistan�s High Representative to the UK, says the commercials are necessary to counter the American media�s largely negative coverage of Iraq.

"We feel the mainstream media,� she tells Newsmax, "is focusing on the negative stories coming out of Iraq and very rarely highlighting the good news.�

"We�re not saying that the media doesn�t tell the truth. They do tell the truth. There is violence. There is an insurgency. But it�s not the whole truth, or the whole picture.�

"The truth is that while there is violence,� she continues, "there are big strides being taken towards democracy in Iraq, particularly in Kurdistan. There are vast sections of Iraq, and again particularly Kurdistan, where the region is safe, stable, and people are getting on with their lives, doing business, trying to build a future.�

Indeed, not a single coalition soldier has died in Kurdistan since March 2003.

Rahman worries, however, about suggestions that the United States should pull out of Iraq.

"If people are saying that America should withdraw their troops now, that would be a catastrophe, not only for the people of Iraq but also for the Middle East and the wider intentional community and the United States,� she says.

Kurdistan President H.E. Masoud Barzani thanked President Bush for his dedication to Iraqi freedom in an Oct. 25 visit to the White House.
"It was a brave decision that you have made,� Barzani told the president, "you have liberated a people from a dictatorial regime that has hurt a lot of people.�