Kurdistan in America

Latest Episodes:

Season 3 Episode 4 - Interview with Ms. Dilman Yasin and Ms. Wan Rashid, Kurdish-American activists from the Kurdish diaspora in Nashville Apr 20, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Ms. Dilman Yasin and Ms. Wan Rashid, Kurdish-American activists from the Kurdish diaspora in Nashville, as its guests this month.
Dilman was born in Kuremay, a village outside of Duhok City, and came to America with her family at the age of five. She is currently a Performance Manager in the Nashville Mayor's office and the Director of Community Outreach for Kurdish Professionals, a non-profit organization assisting Kurds. She obtained a Master of Science in Healthcare Informatics.
The second guest, Wan, is originally from Amedia, a district in Duhok province. She came to the US with her family when she was less than a year old. She is the Executive Director of Effendi Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists Nashville's refugee and immigrant community. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in public policy and public administration at the American University.
The discussion focuses on their experience migrating to America with their families, the challenges of integrating into a new society, and the activities and achievements of the Kurdish diaspora in Nashville.

Season 3 Episode 3 - Interview with Ms. Ashti Waissi Mar 20, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Ms. Ashti Waissi as its guest this month.
Ms. Waissi is Legislative Assistant at the Canadian Parliament and a former staff assistant to the Co-Founder of the Parliamentary Friends of the Kurds Group, Mr. Tom Kmiec, MP for Calgary Shepard. She has a dual degree in Political Science and Sociology.
Ms. Waissi's family is from Iranian Kurdistan, but she was born in a refugee camp in Iraq. She tells us her experience living in the camp and the challenges of integrating into Canadian society. She also shares some new and surprising information on the Kurdish diaspora in Canada.

Season 3 Episode 2 - Interview with Congressman Jim Langevin Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Congressman Jim Langevin as its guest this month.
Congressman Langevin has been Representing Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District since 2001. He is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security.
He shares his history of service in Congress and the potentially devastating experience that inspired him to run for office. He also expresses his views on the US-Kurdistan relationship as well as the security situation in Kurdistan, Iraq, and the wider region.

Season 3 Episode 1 - Interview with Sarhang Hamasaeed, director of Middle East Programs at USIP Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Mr. Sarhang Hamasaeed as our guest in the first episode of Season Three.
Mr. Hamasaeed is the director of Middle East Programs at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, DC. He is also a regular lecturer at the Foreign Service Institute on ISIS and challenges to governance in Iraq.
The USIP is an American nonpartisan, independent institute founded by Congress and is tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide.
Mr. Hamasaeed shares his experience migrating from Kurdistan Region to the United States and sheds light on what he witnessed in his most recent visit to Kurdistan. He also provides an in-depth assessment of the political situation in the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq, including the security situation in Nineveh Plains and the Sinjar region.

Call to support Concurrent Resolution 32: Commemorating the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort and Kurdish-American partnership Jan 22, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

This is a special podcast message from the Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in the United States.

Several members of Congress introduced a bipartisan resolution, Concurrent Resolution 32, to the House of Representatives Commemorating the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort and Kurdish-American partnership. The resolution was also introduced to the US Senate by Senator Van Hollen and Senator Marco Rubio.

As of today, 25 members of the House have co-sponsored the resolution. But a few more co-sponsors are needed for it to be marked up and passed.

We encourage Kurdish-Americans to send a message to their members of Congress to support the resolution by mail or by signing the following online petition: Concurrent Resolution 32

Season 2 Episode 13 - Interview with General James Jones, former National Security Adviser Dec 21, 2021

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have General James Jones as our guest in this special edition.

General Jones was the 32nd Commandant of the US Marine Corps, the Supreme Allied Commander for the European Command, and National Security Advisor to President Barrack Obama. He was also one of the original commanders of Operation Provide Comfort, the military-humanitarian operation that saved countless lives in Kurdistan in 1991.

General Jones shares with us his experience and insights into Operation Provide Comfort and explains why it was geo-strategically vital for the United States and not just for the people of Kurdistan. He gives his views on the US military partnership with the Peshmerga forces and lends his support for the concurrent resolution in the US Congress (H.Con.Res.32) commemorating the 30th anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort. He also speaks about his decades of service in the US military, explaining how it ultimately led him to become President Obama’s National Security Adviser.

The KRG Representation calls on the Kurdish-American community to reach out to their members of Congress to ask them to support the resolution in both the House and the Senate.

Season 2 Episode 12 - Interview with Karen Young, a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Ms. Karen Young as its guest this month.
Ms. Young is a senior fellow and founding director of the Program on Economics and Energy at the Washington DC-based think tank, the Middle East Institute. Previously, she was a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, focusing on the political economy of the Middle East and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
She shares her experience about her recent visit to the Kurdistan Region to participate in the American University of Kurdistan's Middle East Peace and Security Forum, provides her take on the KRG's economic reforms and energy sector, and discusses her role at the Middle East Institute.

Season 2 Episode 11 - Special Bonus Edition - Interview with Senator Chris Van Hollen Nov 10, 2021

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Senator Chris Van Hollen as its guest in this special bonus edition.

Senator Van Hollen, who has a long record of public service in the US Congress, has co-sponsored S.Con.Res.16 with Senator Marco Rubio. The bipartisan resolution commemorates the anniversary of Operation Provide Comfort, the humanitarian-military mission that averted catastrophe after hundreds of thousands of Kurds fled Saddam Hussein's forces in 1991. The US, Britain, and France launched the operation that saved countless lives.

The KRG Representation calls on the Kurdish-American community to reach out to their members of Congress to ask them to support the resolution in both the House and the Senate.

Senator Van Hollen's history of championing the Kurds goes back to 1988 when he and a colleague, Peter Galbraith, were on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. They visited the Iraqi-Turkish border and interviewed Kurds who had fled chemical bombardment in Iraq. They wrote a damning report that, for the first time, shone a light on the Anfal genocide. The Maryland Senator describes the Kurds today as 'fighters for justice.'

Season 2 Episode 10 - Interview with the Honorable Tom Kmiec, Member of the Canadian Parliament Oct 26, 2021

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

This month, the Kurdistan in America podcast is going north to Canada and is pleased to have the Honorable Tom Kmiec MP as its guest. Mr. Kmiec is serving his third term as a Member of the Canadian Parliament for Calgary Shepard. He is also the co-founder of the Canadian Parliamentary Friends of the Kurds.
Mr. Kmiec shares his insights on Canada's involvement in the Kurdistan Region and potential areas to expand bilateral relations. He also sheds light on his impressive knowledge of the Kurds and his encounters with the growing Kurdish community across Canada.
Born in Poland and raised as a refugee in Quebec, Mr. Kmiec sees parallels between his family's background in Eastern Europe and the experience of many Kurds who are forced to flee their homeland for political reasons.

Season 2 Episode 9 - Interview with Dr. Matthew Zais, the former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of International Affairs at the US Department of Energy Sep 25, 2021

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

This month, the Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Dr. Matthew Zais as its guest. Matt is the former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of International Affairs at the US Department of Energy. Currently, he serves as the Vice President of Government Relations at HKN Energy, which has invested in Kurdistan’s oil sector. Matt also served as Iraq Director at the Trump White House National Security Council for two years and the US military for over two decades as a career US Army officer.
Matt shares his insight on the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas industry as a former US government official and now working in the private sector. He also sheds light on his encounters in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region while serving in the US Army.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected