Topic: Kirkuk

Nawres Walid Hamid, a naturalized U.S. citizen and linguist from Sacramento, was the contractor killed in the rocket attack on the K-1 Air Base near Kirkuk. His employer, Valiant Integrated Services, provides support for Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). This death served as the primary catalyst for the subsequent U.S. military escalation against Iranian-backed militias.

Russia Today reports on a bombing at a funeral near Kirkuk that allegedly killed numerous women and children, an event the mainstream U.S. media has not covered. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Baghdad to assess the Mosul offensive against ISIS.

The history and potential revival of the Mosul-Haifa oil pipeline are explored, linking the Kirkuk oil fields to Israel via Jordan. Analysts suggest that the current instability in Iraq serves as a distraction while infrastructure is built to move Kurdish oil to Western partners.

The prospect of partitioning Iraq into three distinct regions—Kurdish, Sunni, and Shia—is discussed as an "unnatural" but likely outcome of the current conflict. Vice President Joe Biden previously suggested this carving up of the state in 2008. The Kurds have already seized the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, while Shia militias are mobilizing in the south, effectively erasing the borders established a century ago.

Iraqi Kurdistan has successfully linked the Kirkuk oil fields to its new pipeline into Turkey, cementing its independence from Baghdad. A third tanker of "disputed" Kurdish crude is scheduled to depart from the Turkish port of Ceyhan on June 22. This infrastructure allows the Kurds to generate independent revenue, fulfilling a long-term Western goal of empowering the Kurdish region as a stable energy partner.

The hosts analyze the ISIS advancement through the lens of "Pipelineistan," noting that the group's territorial gains align with the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline. They argue that the conflict is less about religion and more about controlling the flow of energy from Iraq and Iran to the Mediterranean. The discussion suggests that ISIS is being used to thwart a $10 billion pipeline deal involving Iran, Iraq, and Syria.