As Iraq’s future continues to be debated, one thing that the U.S. is refusing to put on the table is the idea that maybe Iraq, shouldn’t be one country, but three. You just have to travel to the north from Baghdad, to the mountains surrounding Erbil and Kirkuk, to hear people who embrace the idea of a united Kurdish state, separate and apart from Iraq.
The four million Kurds living in the north have a culture and language entirely their own. After years of bombings and chemical attacks by Saddam Hussein, the Kurdish people have not had the time or opportunity to advance their idea of an independent state. The very word “Kurdistan” has been a dream for hundreds of years. But with the future of that land now so uncertain, some are calling for a reconsideration of borders and allegiances.
Guests:
Peter Galbraith, Former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, and Senior Diplomatic Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington DC
Michael Goldfarb, WBUR correspondent for Inside/Out Documentaries, currently in Erbil, Iraq
Ahmed al-Rahim, Arabic Language and Literature professor at Harvard University.