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Planned Kurdish Referendum on Independence Unsettles Iraqis, U.S.

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The situation in Iraqi Kurdistan is covered in this WSJ report, with the referendum by the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq set for Sept 25, 2017. This is a region of 5.2 million people in northern Iraq. Adjoining it is a region with a mixed Arab and Kurdish population in oil rich Kirkuk province. The referendum is being held also in these areas as the Kurdish militia the Peshmerga took control of Kirkuk following the hasty withdrawal of the Iraqi army from attacks by Islamic State. Like the other aspects of the long war in Iraq this again complicates the U.S. position. As this report shows Arabs are being displaced in this part of Iraq after moving south as refugees. The Kurdish forces were a reliable ally for the U.S. in the war in 2015-2016, yet the U.S. maintains a policy of fairness towards all communities in Iraq. 


Iraq's Kurdistan region and the invasion by ISIS in August 2014, the Kurdish U.S. backed response in 2015

08/14/2014

Iran and the U.S. aid the Peshmerga forces to push the ISIS Islamic state militants out of Kurdistan. Maliki steps down as prime minister and a new prime minister who would appeal to both Shia and Sunnis takes over. The failure of Maliki to bring national reconciliation and build a strong national military comprised of Shia and Sunni with the help of the U.S. leads to the collapse of Mosul. The situation with a badly trained and poorly organized Iraqi military and poorly equiped Peshmerga leads to the general collapse as Sunni ISIS militants in Syria push into Iraq in 2014. U.S. airstrikes help prevent the fall of Erbil, capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. France moves to aid Kurdistan as the EU fails to come up with a response. By 2015 the situation changed, with U.S. led airstrikes the Kurds had taken Sinjar from ISIS. an agreement.

Grouped Articles

Iraq Crisis: Effort to Aid Kurdish Forces Puts Iran, U.S. on Same Side

Wall Street Journal 08/14/2014

With Maliki Out of the Picture, U.S. Prepares to Boost Iraq Aid

Wall Street Journal 08/16/2014

How to Save Iraq and Honor American Sacrifice

Wall Street Journal 08/15/2014

U.S. Widens Air Campaign in Northern Iraq

Wall Street Journal 08/18/2014

Islamic State Fills Coffers From Illicit Economy in Syria, Iraq

Wall Street Journal 08/28/2014

How Kurds Came to Play Key Role in U.S. Plans to Combat Islamic State

Wall Street Journal 09/09/2014

Iraqi Kurdistan and oil industry

07/22/2014

Grouped Articles

Kurdish Oil Gambit Hits Troubled Waters

Wall Street Journal 07/22/2014

Oil Gives Kurds a Path to Independence, and Conflict With Baghdad

New York Times 10/25/2014

Iraq and Kurds Reach Deal on Oil Exports and Budget Payments

New York Times 11/13/2014

Iraq Agrees on Kurdistan Oil Deal

Wall Street Journal 12/02/2014

How Falling Oil Prices Are Hindering Iraq’s Ability to Fight Islamic State

Wall Street Journal 03/11/2015

Sinjar Victory Bolsters Kurds, but Could Further Alienate U.S. From Iraq

New York Times 11/13/2015


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