The Kurds and Possible Iraqi Kurdish Independence
CRS Insights
The Kurds and Possible Iraqi Kurdish Independence
Jim Zanotti, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs (jzanotti@crs.loc.gov, 7-1441)
Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs (kkatzman@crs.loc.gov, 7-7612)
July 15, 2014 (IN10105)
Approximately 30 million ethnic Kurds inhabit a largely mountainous region at the intersection of
Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran. In recent years, Kurdish populations have increasingly influenced regional
developments, particularly given ongoing conflict and change in Iraq and Syria and long-standing
efforts by Turkey's Kurds to obtain greater political rights (see CRS Report R43612, Iraq Crisis and U.S.
Policy). These developments are of interest to Congress and the Obama Administration, in light of
recent indications that the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq may seek outright
independence.
Regional Context
Kurds share strong historical, cultural, and interactive bonds across countries, and are known as one of
the largest ethnic groups without control of a state. Yet Kurds are also riven by a host of linguistic and
political differences, and vary in religiosity and Muslim confessional identity—though the majority is
Sunni. Members of the sizeable Kurdish diaspora (more than 1 million) can be found throughout the
world, but primarily in Europe. Precise demographic and economic data regarding Kurds in various
states are generally unavailable.
Figure 1. Kurds in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria
Since the early 20th Century, Kurds have periodically engaged in conflict with and faced repression by
the governments of the states in which they live. They have also experienced economic disadvantages.
Kurdish nationalist insurgencies or political struggles in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran have received
support of varying kinds and extents—resources, manpower, logistics, public relations, territorial safe
havens—via transnational Kurdish ties in the region and the diaspora in Europe. In Iraq, Kurds acquired
de facto autonomy following the 1991 Gulf War, and have formalized and increased this autonomy
since the U.S.-led removal of Saddam Hussein from power in 2003. This was the result of several
factors, including:
rights conferred upon the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) under Iraq's 2005 constitution;
geographical features that aid the defense of their territorial domain;
command of their own security forces (or peshmerga);
control over natural resources; and
international support.
Turkey has reportedly become the KRG's largest trading partner and external source of investment,
particularly as a consumer of and transport hub for oil extracted from Kurdish-controlled territory.
Turkey appears to have established these economic linkages partly in order to cultivate and leverage
good political relations with the KRG in the hope of enabling Turkey to
better manage its efforts to mitigate conflict and reach greater political accommodation with
Turkish Kurds; and
contain potential cross-border influences from conflict-ridden Syria and Iraq, including influences
from Islamist groups, and influences from Syrian Kurds who have gained a measure of de facto
autonomy.
For several months, Turkey appears to have been aiding the KRG's efforts to export oil through Turkey
without the approval of Iraq's central government, which U.S. officials have reportedly asserted could
further undermine Iraq's already shaky political stability and sovereign unity.
The KRG's sway with Kurdish nationalist groups outside Iraq appears to be limited, partly given its own
security and governance challenges—including Iraqi Kurds' historical legacy of infighting—and the other
groups' country-specific conditions.
Possible Iraqi Kurdish Independence and its Potential Implications
In mid-June 2014, KRG peshmerga took control of the disputed, resource-rich city of Kirkuk as Iraqi
army divisions abandoned their positions in the face of a Sunni Arab militant advance spearheaded by
the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, now calling itself the Islamic State). Iraq's Kurds have
long claimed Kirkuk as Kurdish territory and sought to formally integrate it into the KRG. They may
sense an opportunity to secure formal control over more territory, and greater rights to export oil
independent of Baghdad's control. In early July 2014, KRG President Massoud Barzani asked the KRG
parliament to plan a referendum on independence. Obama Administration officials have reportedly
privately urged the KRG to defer such plans, while expressing continual public support for Iraqi unity.
Despite this U.S. stance, active Kurdish participation in the formation of a new national government is
reportedly on hold. KRG leaders strongly oppose a third term for the current Shiite prime minister, Nuri
al Maliki, and have suspended their participation in Iraq's current government in response to Maliki's
July 2014 accusations that Kurds were complicit in the June ISIL-led offensive. On July 11, peshmerga
reportedly seized control of two key oil fields near Kirkuk from a state-controlled company. The same
day, Maliki replaced Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, with Hussain al Shahristani, a Shiite.
KRG leaders might be using the independence issue as leverage in their disputes with Baghdad, and it
is unclear whether and when a referendum might take place, or what the implications might be for
U.S. interests. Some observers anticipate that a more independent Iraqi Kurdish entity (either housed
within an Iraqi confederation or as its own state) would be a stabilizing factor in the region, given its
prospects for economic self-sufficiency; the KRG's pro-U.S. and -Western outlook; and support from
Israel. Turkey may even acquiesce to the idea, which would be a significant reversal—apparently
gradually in the making during the past decade—from its previous opposition. Others assert that a
move for formal independence might exacerbate instability in or around Iraq, possibly by provoking
military responses from Iraq's central government, Sunni and Shiite militias, and neighboring countries
(Iran, Syria, maybe even Turkey depending on how security concerns evolve). Additional questions
that could affect U.S. perceptions of potential Iraqi Kurdish independence and its possible implications
include:
What precedent might redrawing a post-World War I Middle Eastern national border have for
neighboring states with current or potential separatist movements, including Kurdish nationalist
groups?
Will Iraqi Kurds seek arms or other assistance (including humanitarian assistance for displaced
persons from other parts of Iraq) from the United States, and/or oppose their provision to
Baghdad?
How quickly and to what extent could an independent Iraqi Kurdish entity use its own resources
to replace its current share of the oil revenue collected by Iraq's national authorities?