The Other Iraq is an advertising campaign created to promote commerce in the Kurdish region of Iraq

Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...

. It is run by the Kurdistan Development Corporation to promote investment and trade.

"Thank you" ads

Part of their promotions include a series of advertisements thanking the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and their allies for removing the regime of Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

. The advertisements can be viewed from the promotional website.

Individuals and advisors involved

Along with the campaign, H.E. Masoud Barzani

Massoud Barzani

Massoud Barzani is the current President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Barzani was born in Mahabad, Iran, during the rule of the Republic of Mahabad...

 the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government

Kurdistan Regional Government

The Kurdistan Regional Government , , is the official ruling body of the predominantly Kurds-populated Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq...

 in Iraq said: "The United States has never wavered in its quest to help Iraqis build a democracy that rewards compromise and consensus. The ever generous American people have paid a tragic price, the lives of their finest men and women, to advance the banner of freedom and democracy, a sacrifice for which we are profoundly grateful." Other spokespeople include:

• Nijyar Shemdin, Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the US, Canada and the United Nations
• Brendan O'Leary
  Brendan O'Leary
  Brendan O'Leary is an Irish political scientist, who is Lauder Professor of Political Science and Director of the Penn Program in Ethnic Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was formerly Director of the now-closed Solomon Asch Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict...
  
  , Constitutional Adviser to the Kurdistan Regional Government
• Karol Sultan, member of the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park
  University of Maryland, College Park
  The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
  
  
• Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the United Kingdom
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
   and Chairman of the Kurdistan Development Corporation
• Khaled Salih, Political Advisor to the Kurdistan Regional Government
• Nicholas Somerville, Executive Director of the Kurdistan Development Corporation
• Peter Galbraith, Adviser to the Kurdistan Regional Government
• William Garaway, documentary producer William Garaway
• Matthew Freedman, long time Kurdish advocator and supporter

External links

• The Other Iraq
• The Iraq We Haven't Seen, The Washington Post
• The Other Iraq Tours