So here's a few things I know about the Kurds ... The Kurdish state was broken into 4 pieces when the Brits divied up Iraq around 1918. They had been defeated by the Kurds and felt threatened, goes the story. Another "piece" is in Iran, another in Syria, and the fourth went to the Turks.
Another piece of info - The Turks despise the Kurds, presumably for racial reasons. When the latest war started, a fair amount of work was done by our government and armed forces to assure a solid Northern border. It got very little media attention, but I heard some very funny stories working with some of the soldiers.
Final interesting piece of info ... One prevalent theory in the US Government is that Iraq should not exist right now, but should have been broken into three countries, with the northernmost being a Kurdish state. This is partially in retribution to the way that we did NOT support them in 1992, and partially because you get an economically powerful, ethinically homogeneous country that is pro-US. It would also put ethnic pressure on Iran because of the Kurdish influence.
Now, I think that Bush's effort to forge one country is going in the right direction (democracy trumps ethnicity and religion).
Posted by: DDG at February 21, 2006 01:24 AM