Republican candidates in the US are pushing the case for Kurdish independence in their 2016 presidential nomination campaigns. Kurdish political observers believe that Kurds should steer clear of supporting either the Republicans or Democrats.

The US presidential election will take place in November 2016, and a number of Republican Senators have already launched their campaigns. Kurdish analysts have criticised talk of support for independence as publicity-seeking that can have no positive effect for the people of the Kurdistan Region.

Republican candidate Senator Rand Paul supports the idea of Kurdish independence and says that the US must arm Kurdistan directly.

“I think they would fight like hell if we promised them a country,” Paul said.

Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Lindsey Graham have previously supported Kurdistan and emphasised that the US and EU must directly supply arms to Kurdistan.

International political observer Noori Talabani told BasNews, “Kurdistan must seize this opportunity and be united and well prepared; we need to secure our international position.”

Noori is not, however, optimistic about the “propaganda”. He believes that the US does not honestly support Kurdish independence in the current situation, and the Republicans are merely point scoring in the run up to the election.

International Relations professor Sarsam Shwani said that the support is the result of a successful policy by Kurdistan. “Kurds have won western support in the fight against Islamic State (IS), which can affect the polls in America.”

Political observer and author of “American Elections” Azad Hasib told BasNews, “Kurds must seize all opportunities but it is also important to know that this is election propaganda, aiming to attract voters; Kurdistan must not take the side of either the Republicans or the Democrats.”

Azad explained that Republicans and Democrats have had different opinions on Iraq, fighting IS and the case of Kurdistan which has affected their foreign policy. “History has proven that sometimes the Republicans use cases in their electoral campaigns but the Democrats implement them later, so Kurdistan should remain balanced.”