Brilliant article in the January National Geographic on the Kurds -- "Who's Winning in Iraq" -- unfortunately not available online except for an
excerpt.
It appears that nobody in Kurdistan takes the idea of true unification with Iraq very seriously -- 98.7% favor independence, and among other signs, all the new road construction points towards the neighbors (Iran, Turkey) while the roads towards Iraq fall into ruin.
OK, but the really weird part, the part that made me sit up with my mouth open, is on the flip...
It happens in Kirkuk after a suicide bombing. The reporter is allowed to attend the Kurdish security force briefing, in the middle of which, six men quietly file into the room:
They were one of the American counterinsurgency squads that show up in the wake of terrorist attacks. "Maybe Delta Force, maybe CIA, maybe something else," our interpreter whispered in my ear. "Nobody is really sure who they are."
The men wore no uniforms and no identification tags, and their squad leader's sole words to us were "no questions and no photographs." His comrades sported an eclectic Hells Angels' mix of shaved heads and shoulder-length hair.... One of them wore a black t-shirt emblazoned with a skull and crossbones. Their arms cradled assault weapons with sniper scopes, and they had pistols in leg and shoulder holsters and tucked into the rear of their slacks.
Locals refer to them as Rambos. For an hour, the Rambos sat in silence.... They were the only Americans we encountered in Kirkuk.
What the heck? Who
are these guys?
Lots of other interesting stuff in the article -- it looks to me like the drive to keep Kirkuk, with its oilfields, could eventually be the undoing of the Kurds' aspirations. Too much temptation, too many powerful forces involved who do NOT have the Kurds' best interests at heart. Hope I'm wrong. You really need to read the article, though -- just excellent reporting.