One thing Americans, Turks and Arabs all have in common is that they are opposed to the creation of an independent Kurdish state. Yet, another thing is that they have all played an important role in doing exactly that.

Gather round ye Cominganarchy readers for it’s History Hour with Chirol!

Our story begins shortly after the first Gulf War. The United States, Great Britain and France created two no-fly zones, one in northern Iraq to protect the Kurds and one in southern Iraq to protect the Shia. These zones crippled Saddam’s power in over half of Iraq driving the first wedge between the Kurds and Arabs, and between the Shia and Sunnis.

The next move came from Saddam who all but ended Iraqi government services in the north, ordering his governers and other high ranking officials to leave Kurdistan in October 1991. On top of that, he stopped the flow of money, no longer funding schools, paying salaries, supplying textbooks, fuel and rations. While some Kurds left, the majority stayed and the Kurds stepped into the government’s shoes, showing Saddam’s unparalleled lack of foresight. In May of 1993, Saddam went one step further, withdrawing the 25 dinar note from circulation which was aimed at destroying both savings and trade in Kurdistan. As usual, it backfired. Kurds began using US Dollars and Deutsch Marks and held onto the old Iraqi notes when Saddam introduced the new post-war ones. Ironically, they ended up being the de facto currency of Kurdistan even trading higher against the dollar than the new Iraqi money. From then on, Iraqi Kurdistan ran its own affairs, had its own money and was all but officially separated from Iraq.

After the war, Kurdistan began to not only recover, but develop rapidly. Roads were paved, new bridges were built, new houses were built, agriculture came back in a big way and over a dozen Kurdish tv stations popped up. This was partially thanks to Western aid, Saddam’s abandonment of the Kurds and above all, Kurdish will power.

As for the Turks, their role has been less important though not without meaning. When the first Gulf War began, tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurds attempted to flee into Turkey. A paranoid (and rightly so) Turkish government shut down the borders, already having deployed much of its military to the south east. By keeping the Kurds in Iraq, they may have staved off increased instability in south eastern Turkey, yet they not only created a serious public relations disaster, but also prevented Iraqi Kurdistan from hemorrhaging potentially useful people not to mention further consolidating the fledgling “country.” Turkish concern for its own national security was understandable and was likely the right decision given the long history of unrest in Turkish Kurdistan. Yet, the decision also led to increased international assistance, development and self-reliance.

In Part II of History Hour with Chirol on Kurdistan, I’ll discuss the interwar period and the further unintentional isolation of Kurdistan which will almost certainly lead to a long awaited and much deserved Kurdish state.

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