The Kurdish Connection Kindle Edition

Great read. The story is full of tension and action, but I particularly loved all the details about the Kurds life, their values, the food, their social rules, their society… Sometimes I found the names a bit confusing, but I didn’t have problem following the story

I bought the paperback version of this book for my father. He doesn't use Amazon, so I thought I'd better write what he told me about his experience of reading The Kurdish Connection.He said the book had him sitting on the edge of his seat the whole time and there wasn't one boring bit. It was action packed throughout. He said although it was a very serious topic, which the author obviously knew plenty about, it also had humour in places and was a most enjoyable read.He said the author's writing was really streamlined and he'd like to read more of his books.Now I know what to include in my father's 70th birthday bundle this May.

Randall Krzak crafted an action thriller as current as today’s headlines. The story is fast paced and an easy read. It is well-edited and the cover is appropriate.The world media may have forgotten Saddam Hussein used deadly mustard gas and other agents on the Kurds before/during the Second Gulf war, but the Kurd's haven’t, and they still fight for international recognition and independence. The story bounces back and forth between ethnic Kurds in Iraq finding one of Saddam’s hidden weapons cache and the newly created US Bedlam Strike Team. The Kurd's who found the weapons cache are led astray by zealots who want world attention for their cause of a Kurdish state. The original group lost family in Saddam’s attack and want the existence of WMD made public, but are swayed by influenced mullahs (as usual, with their own agendas.) The ease with which the Kurd's moved in and out of Iraq, Syria, and Turkey identifies the basic problem prevent peace in the area—each group, religion, or partisan have their own agenda and refuse to consider the merits of another.The Bedlam team enters these same countries as though borders don’t exist. The Bedlam Alpha Team is on their first active mission after one practice exercise. The team members use code name: Haggis, Aussie, Kiwi, Mountie, and Rebel. The Bedlam Strike Force operates under the auspices of the Chairman of the US Joint Chief of Staff with the cooperation of the UK and Australians. The Bedlam team is to locate and recover the toxic gas cylinders before the Kurds either intentionally or accidentally kill innocent people with them. (The fact that WMD existed in Iraq is mentioned once and discarded by all parties reinforces this is fiction (Right?))The Kurd insurgents stage a dozen hit-and-run terrorist attacks to cause disarray and spread the Turkish military thin. The Kurds Goal is to free imprisoned Kurd spiritual leader Abdulla Baziyan from a Turkish prison.Spoiler alert. The Kurd who discovered the WMD has a “visitation for his mother” who died in Saddam’s Halabja gas attack. He “sees the light” and realizes this is not the way of Allah and secretly helps the Bedlam recover all the gas canisters, averting an international calamity. One of the Kurds and his family is given asylum in the US.Second spoiler alert. Even after freeing Baziyan, nobody cares, the press pays no attention, the Kurd people are no better off than before (Nobody cares) and the uproar around Aleppo, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan continues unabated—in both real life and fiction.

I don’t usually pick middle-east military stories, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. What I found was a very detailed history of the Kurds that included Turkey, Syria, and Iraqi. Many POVs gave a complete picture of all the sides, which I appreciated, but it was a lot to keep track of, too. Getting into the heads of the Kurds in the characters Ismet, Dersim, and Hawre to see their side of things was fascinating and what I liked best in the story. When the Kurds found the twenty-year-old chemical weapons and their decision what to do next made sense--from their perspective and history. Then a secret special operative team was sent into three countries to find these weapons before they were used. I was happy with the conclusion of the book. It was an interesting and sometimes eye-opening read, that gave a lot of information to the reader.

A non-stop thriller may seem like an overdone phrase, but that is what Mr. Krzak has created in this book. Hard to believe that it's his debut novel.The characters are so real that you feel affection - or fear, as the different groups look for or try to hide a deadly cache of Sarin gas cannisters left over from Sadam Hussein.Krzak keeps you turning pages as you follow the different characters as they wend their way through the exciting plot. The proverbial "clock is ticking" as you watch the drama unfold. You find yourself saying, "no don't do that, do this," because the author has given you enough information to be a couple of steps in front of the protagonists.The "Bedlam Alpha" team was a brilliant move on the author's part. It consists of butt kicking characters readily believable by a fan of thriller novels. The author has a fine ear for language, such as his Canadian character's often ending a sentence with the familiar Canuck, "eh."It was easy to give this excellent novel a five star rating. I look forward to his next book.

When Kurdish scavengers uncover a deadly hoard left over from Saddam Hussein's armoury, they see the chance to fight against oppression of their people. Unfortunately, the stash includes canisters of deadly sarin gas, which, in the wrong hands, can unleash unspeakable suffering on innocent people. Bedlam Alpha, an international team formed to prevent conflict, must recover the cylinders which are now hidden in multiple locations throughout politically tense Syria and Turkey.Randall Krzak's debut novel contains all the elements of a powerful thriller. A crack international team. An impossible mission. Terrifying stakes. But this is not just another thriller; Randall's intimate knowledge of the Middle East makes this a fascinating read. He has a talent for bringing people and places to life, and has left me with a better understanding of the mentality that fuels conflict in this troubled region. This is an author to watch, and I look forward to his next novel.

Fast-paced. An adrenalin high. Terrorism. Conspiracy. Espionage. This novel by Randall Krzak has it all and will keep you on the edge of your seat as you turn the pages. Three Kurdish men accidentally come upon a hidden cache of weapons, plus canisters of deadly sarin gas left over from Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror in 1988. In an effort to unify Kurdistan, they put a plan in action that will leave an international “Bedlam Alpha” team scratching their heads as they try to prevent a deadly conflict throughout Syria and Turkey. Randall’s first-hand knowledge of the Middle East makes this an incredible read as the places and events come to life with his expert and realistic story-telling. Highly recommended. Sit back, enjoy, and let the action unfold as Randall takes you on a journey you won't soon forget!