The Iraqi Kurds have succeeded in presenting a united front of two main political blocks: the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The Kurds have secured a largely autonomous Kurdish region in the North, and have achieved a prominent role for Kurds within the national government. Barzani leads the Kurdish regional government, and Talabani is President of Iraq.

This all has been completed since 2003 when Iraq was "liberated" from the notorious Saddam Hussein regime.

Leading Kurdish politicians have told us they preferred to be within a democratic, federal Iraqi state because an independent Kurdistan would be surrounded by hostile neighbors. However, a majority of Kurds, today, favor independence. The Kurds have their own security forces known as the Peshmerga. Skillfully trained by our own American military forces, the Peshmerga numbers more than 100,000. They believe they could accommodate themselves to either a unified or a fractured Iraq.

Barzani and Talabani:

Kurdish politics has been dominated for years by two figures who have long-standing ties in movements for Kurdish independence and self-government.

1.) Massoud Barzani: Barzani is the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the President of the Kurdish regional government. Barzani has cooperated with his longtime rival, Jalal Talabani, in securing an empowered, autonomous Kurdish region in Northern Iraq. Barzani has
ordered the lowering of Iraqi flags and raising of Kurdish flags in Kurdish-controlled areas. Barzani is the son of the Founder of the Peshmerga, Mustafa Barzani. Peshmerga is
the military and security arm of the Kurdish Regional Government.

2. Jalal Talabani: Talabani is the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the President of Iraq. Whereas Barzani has focused his efforts in Kurdistan, Talabani has
secured power in Baghdad, and several important PUK government ministers are loyal to him. Talabani strongly supports autonomy for Kurdistan. He has also sought to bring real power to the office of the presidency.

Key Issues at Stake:

One core issue is federalism. The Iraqi Constitution, which created a largely autonomous Kurdistan region, allows other such regions to be established later, perhaps including a
Shia-controlled region. This region will be comprised of nine southern provinces. Highly decentralized in its structure, it is favored by the Kurds and many Shia (particularly supporters of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim), but it is an anathema to Sunnis.

First, Sunni Arabs are generally Iraqi nationalists, albeit within the context of an
Iraq they believe they should govern. Second, because Iraq's energy resources are in
the Kurdish and Shia regions, there is no economically-feasible Sunni region. Particularly contentious is a provision in the constitution that shares revenues nationally from current oil reserves, while allowing revenues from reserves discovered in the future to go to the regions.

The Sunnis did not actively participate in the constitution-drafting process, and succumed
to entering the governmental process only on the condition that the constitution be amended ~ sooner rather than later. By 2004, the parliament agreed to initiate a constitutional review commission slated to complete its work within one year; it delayed considering the question of forming a federalized region in southern Iraq for eighteen months.

Another key unresolved issue is the future of Kirkuk-- an oil-rich city in northern Iraq that is home to a substantial number of Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen. The Kurds insisted that the constitution require a popular referendum by December, 2007 to determine whether Kirkuk can formally join the Kurdish administered region, an outcome that Arabs and Turkmen in Kirkuk staunchly oppose. The risks of further violence sparked by a Kirkuk referendum remain great! The "Kirkuk referendum" has not yet fully been decided.

Iraqi leaders often claim that they do not want a division of the country; but we have found that key Shia and Kurdish leaders have little commitment to national reconciliation. One prominent Shia leader has said, quite pointedly, that the current government has the support of 80 percent of the population-- notably excluding Sunni Arabs. Kurds have fought for independence for decades, and I personally feel that America must NEVER fail them again!

When "Study Groups" have visited Iraq, the leader of the Kurdish region has often ordered the lowering of Iraqi flags and the raising of Kurdish flags. One senior American General commented a while back that the Iraqis still do not know what kind of country they want to have. Yet many of Iraq's most powerful and well-positioned leaders are not working toward a united Iraq.

Can we get any understanding out of this at all?

At least the Kurds are "together" in a more united front!!