THE WAGES OF INDEPENDENCE:

The ships are a symbolic gesture and if true, sending them to Israel, is a powerful message. Iraq has always been one of the most hostile countries towards Israel and now if a part of that country sells oil to the Jewish state, it would mean Iraq and its foreign policies have become irrelevant.

It could also be that Iraqi leaders are only renewing their old rhetoric about Kurdish-Israeli relations in order to kill the little sympathy that some Arab countries have recently shown towards Kurdistan. In the Muslim world if you want to attack or demonize someone, all you need to do is link them with Israel.

The Kurds however, have their own perception of the Jewish state. Kurdish leaders have said time and again that they don't view Israel through the Arab lens. They don't expect Baghdad to choose their friends and enemies for them.

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