Kurdistan

The Kurds are again caught in the crossfire, now between US and Iran
The Kurds are again caught in the crossfire, now between US and Iran
In the immediate aftermath of the Soleimani strike, Iran’s first act of retaliation was to launch 22 missiles against the US base at the Ain al-Assad airbase,…
The worrying precedent of Turkey’s “safe zone”
The worrying precedent of Turkey’s “safe zone”
There is a reason the Kurds say they have “no friend but the mountains”. Time and again human rights atrocities have been perpetrated against them, and they are not strategically…
Washington's weak hand to play in Syria
Washington's weak hand to play in Syria
With the change of administration in Washington came new clarity about US policy on Syria. The admirable, short-term aim was to defeat ISIS. The Syrian Democratic…
The ongoing plight of the Yazidis
The ongoing plight of the Yazidis
As the Iraqi Army and Shiite militias drive Kurdish forces out of cities and villages in the wake of the Kurdish Regional Government's independence referendum, the plight of the…
Kurds aren’t always the good guys
Kurds aren’t always the good guys
I have written recently about the recklessness of Kurdish leaders in staging their independence referendum. Rather than advance the Kurdish cause, it has probably set it back…
Worst enemy: Kurdistan’s history of infighting
Worst enemy: Kurdistan’s history of infighting
Hopes were high in Kurdistan after the historic, if ill-advised, referendum on independence earlier this month. To the question 'Do you want the Kurdistan Region and the…
Kurdistan’s strategic overreach
Kurdistan’s strategic overreach
There is no doubt that the Kurds have been unfairly dealt with as an ethno-linguistic group throughout modern history. They’re not alone in this, but they are probably in a…
Iraq, the Kurds, and the mess America has made
Iraq, the Kurds, and the mess America has made
Tensions between the Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are once again threatening to boil over. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered the military to …
Kurdistan precarious but steadfast on eve of referendum
Kurdistan precarious but steadfast on eve of referendum
It is hard not to be sympathetic to the decades-long Kurdish struggle for independence and self-determination. The long-suffering Kurdish nation was summarily divvied up by the…
Leave the Iran nuclear deal alone
Leave the Iran nuclear deal alone
In 2015, now-President Donald Trump said of the Iran nuclear agreement (otherwise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA]) that 'Never ever, ever in my life have I…