Related Resources

Pundits and policymakers seem to agree that the Kurdish provinces in the north of Iraq see Operation Iraqi Freedom as an opportunity for greater autonomy. If Kurds make such a bid at the moment of power transfer, might they obstruct a federal, united Iraq, as they did during the negotiations for the Interim Iraqi Constitution - or cause even direr consequences? How might Iraq’s northern neighbors, each of whom possesses Kurdish populations, react? Nijar Shemdin, US representative of Kurdistan Regional Government (the umbrella Iraqi Kurdish organization) will detail Kurdish demands and aspirations. He will articulate his vision for Iraqi Kurds in the short and long term, including the economy, political organization relations with other neighboring Kurdish populations, and control of natural resources.