Abstract
In the aftermath of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, Iraqi Kurds have made unprecedented political gains due to their alliance with the United States and the key role they have played in the post-Saddam government in Baghdad. Although Iraqi Kurds yearn for independence, their leaders have refrained from following such a course in view of Turkish and Iranian anxieties that an independent Kurdistan in northern Iraq would stimulate nationalism among their restive Kurdish populations. Turkey and Iran have warned Iraqi Kurdish leaders against pursuing independence, and the former has warned the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) against plans to incorporate oil-rich Kirkuk. Although both countries engage in mutually beneficial trade with the KRG, the Turkish and Iranian governments have quarrelled with the Kurdish leadership over the activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), which have used KRG territory to launch attacks against Turkey and Iran respectively. In view of the acute vulnerability of Iraqi Kurdistan, prudence requires that the Iraqi Kurdish leadership avoid any needless provocation of Turkey and Iran, and to refrain from any hasty move toward independence.
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