Kurdistan Now the Less Stable Part of Iraq

Here's something I haven't written about in a while: The Kurds! Remember when Bush (and former Senator George Allen) touted how great things were in the Kurdish region of Iraq? Well, not so much. To recap: the Kurds want to expand their autonomous region to include Kirkuk, which has a crapload of oil. This, unsurprisingly, does not appeal to the Arab (and Turk) population of Kirkuk or, frankly, the rest of the country. The Kurds have been not-so-patiently awaiting a referendum in Kirkuk to decide if Kirkuk will join the Kurdish region. (Coincidentally, the Kurds have been moving their own people into the area since Saddam fell to stack the referendum in their favor.) Now the tensions are coming to a head and threaten to undermine the relative stability currently being enjoyed in Iraq. Read the article. This affects us.