Comments on: A Very Bad Sign in Irbil http://www.polimom.com/2007/01/12/a-very-bad-sign-in-irbil/ I used to be in the middle, but they keep moving the line! Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:05:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Ed T. http://www.polimom.com/2007/01/12/a-very-bad-sign-in-irbil/#comment-53867 Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:57:56 +0000 http://www.polimom.com/2007/01/12/a-very-bad-sign-in-irbil/#comment-53867 Agreed - that does seem to go against the stated policy of having the Iraqis run their own internal affairs. However, it does sound just like the jurisdictional pissing contests the Feds <em>love</em> to engage in over here... ~EdT. Agreed - that does seem to go against the stated policy of having the Iraqis run their own internal affairs. However, it does sound just like the jurisdictional pissing contests the Feds love to engage in over here…

~EdT.

]]> by: Polimom http://www.polimom.com/2007/01/12/a-very-bad-sign-in-irbil/#comment-53864 Fri, 12 Jan 2007 16:40:56 +0000 http://www.polimom.com/2007/01/12/a-very-bad-sign-in-irbil/#comment-53864 Ed -- I'm <em>far </em>less concerned about the status of those offices than I am about the U.S. not working with the Kurdish authorities. Ed —

I’m far less concerned about the status of those offices than I am about the U.S. not working with the Kurdish authorities.

]]> by: Ed T. http://www.polimom.com/2007/01/12/a-very-bad-sign-in-irbil/#comment-53863 Fri, 12 Jan 2007 16:34:13 +0000 http://www.polimom.com/2007/01/12/a-very-bad-sign-in-irbil/#comment-53863 While I am not exactly a fan of what happened, please read my comment on your previous post on this subject, follow and read the link, and back off the rhetoric-o-meter a notch or three! Was this a good idea? Almost certainly not. Then, neither was bombing the Chinese Embassy in Serbia. And, unlike the latter, entering a consulate is <em>not</em> an act of war - as "consular premises" are <em>not</em> considered the sovereign territory of the nation who occupies the space (again, unlike an embassy, which is.) Also, it is common for a nation to use its embassy for intelligence-gathering (read: spying): its consulates, not so much (though there are lots of intel-type activities which don't involve espionage.) OTOH, it is neither customary nor accepted practice to use an embassy/consulate as a staging point for armed insurrection against the host nation (this actually <em>could</em> be construed as an act of war), and if in fact the Iranians were using their offices for such a purpose, they may well be on very shaky ground. And, as far as "friendly armies" engaging in rather tense stand-offs: it isn't exactly unheard of (thinking about a particular NATO airfield in Italy some time ago), though again it would appear that someone really f'd up and didn't bother to do their homework. One would <em>almost</em> think it was a matter of 'hot pursuit'... <em>almost</em>. ~EdT. While I am not exactly a fan of what happened, please read my comment on your previous post on this subject, follow and read the link, and back off the rhetoric-o-meter a notch or three!

Was this a good idea? Almost certainly not. Then, neither was bombing the Chinese Embassy in Serbia. And, unlike the latter, entering a consulate is not an act of war - as “consular premises” are not considered the sovereign territory of the nation who occupies the space (again, unlike an embassy, which is.)

Also, it is common for a nation to use its embassy for intelligence-gathering (read: spying): its consulates, not so much (though there are lots of intel-type activities which don’t involve espionage.) OTOH, it is neither customary nor accepted practice to use an embassy/consulate as a staging point for armed insurrection against the host nation (this actually could be construed as an act of war), and if in fact the Iranians were using their offices for such a purpose, they may well be on very shaky ground.

And, as far as “friendly armies” engaging in rather tense stand-offs: it isn’t exactly unheard of (thinking about a particular NATO airfield in Italy some time ago), though again it would appear that someone really f’d up and didn’t bother to do their homework. One would almost think it was a matter of ‘hot pursuit’… almost.
~EdT.

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