Customer Reviews

After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness?: My Encounters With Kurdistan

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Excellent portrayal of the Kurdish cause, especially in Turkey, whose cultural hatred for the Kurds is much deeper and profound than what is happening in Iraq and Iran. The current day Turks, themselves descendents of Mongolian invaders of Mesopotamia, wholeheartedly believed, and still do, that the only way to survive and stay in power is by completely destroying, and Turkesizing, all other cultures in their path, Just read about what so called father of the Turk "Ataturk" did during his reign, in the recent history.

Johnathan Randall, the former Washington Post and New York Times reporter, has here compiled an extraordinary memoir/focused history of the Kurds. He knows more about the Kurds than one could ever possibly hope to know about them. He is well acquainted with Kurdish leaders--warlords is probably a better term--such as Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talibani and has made several rather dangerous journies to visit them in Northern Iraq.

He focuses very well on how the Kurds have been manipulated as pawns in the feuds of Middle East nations and how the West, specifically the United States, has ignored them except when its imperial interests are at stake. The U.S. encouraged the Kurds to rise up in Iraq against Saddam Hussein during 1972-75 in support of their friend the Shah of Iran but then were abandoned to Saddam's butcheries after Spring 1975. He, of course, points out the U.S. authorising the shipment of materials to make weapons of mass destruction to Iraq between 1985-90 and its giving Iraq loans and credits to buy a large amount of U.S. agricultural products. The U.S. encouraged the maintenance of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship as a bulwark against threats to the status quo in the region i.e. threats and possible domino effects to the oil-producing despotisms. It did not become fashionable to cry for the Kurds until in the aftermath of the Gulf War when the hundreds of thousands of Kurds in the Turkish mountains captured the attention of the TV cameras and a very reluctant Bush administration was forced to help repatriate and succor the miserable refugees in order to avert potential instability in the virulently anti-Kurd nation of Turkey.

Turkey itself where Kurds are refered to as "Turkish mountain people" has seen its U.S. military aid go up dramatically in recent years as it has used severe violence to suppress elementary Kurdish rights in regard to cultural freedom and economic equality with tens of thousands dead, thousands of villages burned, millions of internal refugees, as was partially admited by the Turkish minister for human rights in 1994. The war itself has the potential to unleash great instability in Turkey and big business has been warning the beuracratic-military complex to make serious concessions to the Kurds that would address the injustices done to them which provoked the war in the first place in order to avoid the severe potential internal strife. The U.S. government and its allies of course could withdraw their heavy support for Turkey; fulminating about Milosevic or Rwanda is fine but if you want to seriously stop ethnic cleansing in the world the very best course of action is to help pressure your government to stop supporting it in places like Turkey.

This book provides a good overview of the kurdish cause in the last fifty years but it doesn't give much detail on the long and very old history that Kurdistan has. The book provides good detail on the genocide commited by Iraqi forces in operation Anfal and the other abuses in and betrayels by Iran, Turkey, the Soviet Union and the United States. The book will aslo displace the opinions held by by many Americans that the US always stood for global equality, it also tells how the Americans supported Saddam Hussein for many years and armed him to the teeth and also supported Turkey who also commited acts which are also considered genocidal.
In criticism of this book the author, Jonathan C. Randal, in several places throughout the book does seem to be trying to boost his ego by going into great detail describing how he reached Massoud Barzani and Talabani in their mountain save havens. Much of his detail describing his trips through Kurdistan serve no puposes in many cases other than to promote Randal's image of himself - as a brave journalist reporting the injustices of the world.
The author does tell the story in an incredibly unbiased and impartial way even when describing the terrible atrocities committed by the Iraqi forces in the Anfal campaign. The book should convince any neutral that the Kurds have been treated atrociuosly by the international community and are among the worlds longest suffering and most suffering people.

brilliant book to read. I recommended to every one interested in Kurdish affair, especially the Kurds and their foes. I congratulate him for showing the detailed fact and for his meticulous and fair criticism to all the parties who has been obstacle in the way of Kurds welfare. he also disclose some of the atrocities that happened to Kurds in a very nice narrative way.
I would like to thank him

As I find my self living in Kurdistan at present (2004), my observations of the details of Randall's book were "captivating". I couldn't put it down.

Being in the town where much of the fighting took place bewteen the Iraqi troops and the Kurds after the first Gulf War, and then the war between the PUK and PDK, made history come alive.

One of the issues in the book related to the mass arrest of men and boys in 1983, by Sadam's military. Well, one of my co-workers shared with me his family history. That day in 1983 his father, older brother and uncles were taken away never to be seen or heard from again. It is hard for me to relate to his experience, but I do feel sadness and pain for my friend.

The book is an excellent history for people new to the Kurdish issue. It is a fast reading and exciting book and I highly recommend it.

Mr Jonathan C. Randal has in this book pushed the buttons that exposes the Kurdish problem, especially in Turkey. The analyze of the Kurdish situation, done by a non-kurd, is highly topical. Denying it with arguments that wouldnt hold a feather up is just showing how cheep the reasons for oppressing the 15 million population of Kurds in Turkey are. Mr Randal is accused for being arrogant, and at the same time he is being called stupid and a low-life. 2 contrasting arguments, that is crowned with the argument "it is a tedious read from an author who thinks a bit too much of himself and his acumen over the Kurdish issue." This prooves, as weakly stated in the book, that the hatred of Turks against the Kurdish issue is widely spread among the hearts of the Turks. I find it ironic that all the Pro-Turks doesnt even live in Turkey, the so called misunderstood cradle of freedom. They wish to embellish a country that even they are not living in. If one dared to tell them to go back to their paradice, I assure, they would find 1000 reasons for not doing it. I wish that those who have these opinions were with me as I passed through the border to the FREE IRAQY KURDISTAN. When returning back, I was arrested for being, and I qoute the officer, "a Kurd". After wiping off spit 3 times from my face, have been forced to buy and smoke a package of sigarettes (as i donot smoke) during a half an hour, payed them off 5 hundred dollars as a "present", they agreed to let me go, while a MIT (a member of the turkish "intelligence") was kickng my behind as I ran to my cab. That is the situation for the kurds who say they are kurds. My intention is not presenting sobb-story, but to reveal the truth, that is so deeply contested by the turks. There are'nt any Kurdish tv in Turkey (they have a few hours a day in a turkish channel, highly government-controled). Many kurds cannot speak Kurdish as good as the Turkish, and that was the plan in the ideology (more like idiocy) made by Ataturk, called Kemalism. I quote the book of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk "The best way to control a minority is to make the people forget their history and language". Don't believe me-read his book! That is the reason why many people (Excluded Öcalan, why has a Turkish reputation after him) lack in the Kurdish language. PS-the man at the trial was speaking allright, but Öcalan couldn't hear from inside the "stall". And the so-called "supporting 2 million kurdish refugees"-90% of the support came from external helpers. The fact is that a big part of the things dissapeared under "mystical circumstances", so they never reached the kurds. Iran didn't get a quarter of Turkey got, and thay supported as much refuges by them selves as Turkey. In amny places, the turkish army draw a line on the ground a said-if things that the helicopters drop land in our side, it is ours. If not, we will spread them on you. Don't believe me-read the UN report! When these facts are presented, accusations of victimizing the Kurdish people and falling for lies are raised. Once againg, the truth is denide cause it hurts.......I regret the fact that the book didnt contain any adventure, sex and heros succeed in impossible things. It isn't a pro-Turkey either. The truth is gray for the Kurds, thanks to these kind of people. Next time-choose Harry Potter..........He is in the fantasy, like you guys and your Turkey! Thank you Sir Jonathan C. Randal. I look forward your next book about this issue!

Jonathan Randal did an excellent job of detailing the struggles, battles and betrayals of the Kurdish people. As I read this book, I felt the pain these courageous, spiritual people felt. It was as if I, myself were fighting for the cause. The fight, the cause.....are we not all human? Do we have the right to be treated with dignity and respect? Don't we have the right to live, speak our own language, practice our own religion, have an education and follow our own traditions? This book opened my eyes to the atrocities these people have endured for generations. I believe they are the chosen people. After you read this book, you will agree.

Although the subject is fascinating and the author's background make him eminently qualified to tell us about a little-known and little-understood people, this book is not a compelling read. The first 100 pages (all I was able to finish) do provide some interesting historical background, but not enough detail to make that history come to life. The focus then shifts to an excruciatingly detailed report on the aftermath of the Gulf War. Perhaps if this narrative had been better organized and clearer, the torrent of names and places might have made more sense. Most readers who want to learn more about the Kurds should look for a more accessible work.

As an original inhabitant of Buffalo NY myself and friend of a few Kurds myself, all Iranian, I was a little disappointed to find out that this book mostly covered Iraq and Turkey almost exclusively. Barring the Archie Roosevelt encounter with the Mahabad Republic 0f 1946, and the mention of how the son of a goatherd, the Shah, who was kicked out by an even worse regime than his own. This book doesn't cover anything else about living conditions in Persian Kurdistan at all. This really disappointed me since I wanted to find out more about these Kurds. Iraq coverage was very good and Turkey was good. I saw the headlines two days ago: Turkey killed 8 PKK rebels and want Ocalan freed, in order to ensure peace. Saddam is fretting the "Fly Zone" as PUK and KDP are still feuding, hence being typically fractious and messing up their best chance for Democracy ever. The Inquistion of all Kurdish music/dress is still going on in the religious black hole thanks shaytan Ayatollah Dostam.

First of all, Turkiye(Turkey) is not and never were like Iran, Iraq or Syria. Secondly, it is true, Saddam did gas the Kurds... But was it not TURKIYE that 2 million Kurds fled to. Why would Turkiye open up its borders to 2 million Kurds and spend millions of dollars to supply food, medicine and housing for these people for years, if Turkiye had this bitter hatred towards the Kurds? And has the author, while visiting Turkiye's East ever turn on the TV or the radio to find Kurdish broadcast? Probably not, if he had, he would have found about 20 Kurdish radio stations and 2 Kurdish TV channels in Turkiye's east alone. Well, it seems like he was not investigating the Kurds' life in Turkiye, but he was simply taking notes from the PKK (terror org)propoganda. Furhermore, isn't it strange that the Kurdish TV's and radios in Turkiye broadcast in Kurdish , but the PKK's TV station, Cudi TV (formerly Med-TV) broadcasts in Turkish from Europe? It is because PKK's ex-leader Ocalan cannot speak Kurdish (During Ocalan trials, a Kurdish man, whose son fell victim to PKK terror, asked Ocalan his nationality in Kurdish. Ocalan needed translation to reply. Upon translation, Ocalan lowered his head and did not reply.) Ultimately, the author is passing on the propoganda material as his study of Turkiye's Kurds. Little does Randal know that, one can write about the truth, as opposed to touchy fiction, and still sell books!