When Iraqis go to the polls, Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds won’t have a clear choice between two parties. Instead, they’ll be voting along ethnic lines.
While much of the news out of Iraq has focused on the tensions between the Sunnis who held power under Saddam and the Shiites repressed under his rule, analysts say the future of Iraqi unity in this election may be most challenged by Kurds in the north.
Kurds have been traditional allies of the Americans — and are generally more secular and pro-Western than other Iraqis. Most live in northern Iraq, in a region that is stable and thriving economically thriving with its own autonomous government. But many Kurds want more.
Guests:
Dan Murphy, Arab World Correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor in Baghdad
Peter Galbraith, former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, and Senior Diplomatic Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Jihan Sindi, web editor for the Kurdish language service at Voice of America
Ivan Watson, NPR Istanbul Correspondent who has spent the last week in Northern Iraq among the Kurds.