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      "date": "2010-10-01",
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      "title": "The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq",
      "summary": "The Kurdish-inhabited region of northern Iraq has been relatively peaceful and prosperous since the fall of Saddam Hussein. However, the Iraqi Kurds\u2019 political autonomy, and territorial and economic demands, have caused friction with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other Arab leaders of Iraq, and with Christian and other minorities in the north. As the United States transitions to a support role in Iraq, these tensions are assessed by U.S. commanders as having the potential to erode the security gains that have taken place in Iraq since 2007. Some U.S. officials want to establish clear policies and provisions to contain these frictions in advance of the expected completion of the U.S. military departure from Iraq at the end of 2011. Turkey and Iran were skeptical about Kurdish autonomy in Iraq but have reconciled themselves to this reality and have emerged as major investors in the Kurdish region of Iraq. \nThe major territorial, financial, and political issues between the Kurds and the central government do not appear close to resolution. Tensions increased after Kurdish representation in two key mixed provinces was reduced by the January 31, 2009, provincial elections. The disputes nearly erupted into all-out violence between Kurdish militias and central government forces in mid-2009, and the Kurds continue not to recognize the authority of the Sunni Arab governor of Nineveh Province in Kurdish-inhabited areas of the province. The low-level clashes in 2009 caused the U.S. military to propose new U.S. deployments designed to build confidence between Kurdish and government forces; joint U.S.-Iraqi-Kurdish militia patrols began in January 2010. The Kurds also perceive that their role as \u201ckingmakers\u201d in Iraq\u2019s central government - their ability to throw their parliamentary votes toward one side or another \u2013 was reduced by the March 7, 2010 elections which saw the seats held by the major Kurdish factions lowered from previous levels. \nThe Kurds\u2019 political clout in Baghdad is further reduced by the political ferment in the Kurdish region itself. The Kurdish region voted for president and for members of the Kurdistan National Assembly on July 25, 2009. The results, in which an opposition list won almost 25% of the vote, have threatened the previously iron grip on the politics and economy of the region exercised by the two main factions\u2014the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The two main factions competed as a joint list in the March 7, 2010, national elections for the next full-term government. However, the Kurdish opposition competed separately and won several seats on its own\u2014parliamentary votes which the opposition might not necessarily place at the disposal of the mainstream Kurdish leaders for the purpose of bargaining with Iraq\u2019s Arabs. For more on Iraq, see CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security, by Kenneth Katzman.",
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      "date": "2009-09-01",
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      "title": "The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq",
      "summary": "This report discusses the state of the Kurdish-inhabited region of northern Iraq, which has been fairly peaceful since the fall of Saddam Hussein; however, the region is also home to friction with Christian and other minorities, with various Arab leaders of Iraq, and with neighboring Turkey and Iran.",
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      "title": "The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq",
      "summary": "This report discusses the state of the Kurdish-inhabited region of northern Iraq, which has been fairly peaceful since the fall of Saddam Hussein; however, the region is also home to friction with Christian and other minorities, with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other Arab leaders of Iraq, and with neighboring Turkey and Iran. The report also addresses other general political issues and tensions in the Kurdish region, and how said tensions might affect and be affected by the projected U.S. drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq between now and August 2010.",
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      "id": "RS22079_2009Apr06",
      "date": "2009-04-06",
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      "id": "RS22079_2009Jan08",
      "date": "2009-01-08",
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      "title": "The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq",
      "summary": "This report provides a brief overview of the major issues facing the Iraqi Kurds. The Iraqi Kurds' political autonomy, demands, and ambitions are causing friction with Christian and other minorities in the north, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other Arab leaders of Iraq, neighboring Turkey, and Iran. The U.S. ability to keep these tensions contained could wane as U.S. forces, as planned, draw down from Iraq over the next three years.",
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      "date": "2008-10-23",
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      "title": "The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq",
      "summary": "The Kurdish-inhabited region of northern Iraq is relatively peaceful and prospering economically, but the Iraqi Kurds' political autonomy and political strength in post- Saddam Iraq is causing friction with Arab leaders in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. However, an overall reduction in violence in Iraq, coupled with continued U.S. political influence\r\nover the Kurds, is likely to prevent a destabilizing escalation of the Iraqi Kurd-Arab disputes. Also see CRS Report RL31339, Iraq:\r\nPost-Saddam Governance and Security, by Kenneth Katzman.",
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      "title": "The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq",
      "summary": "The Kurdish-inhabited region of northern Iraq is relatively peaceful and prospering economically, but the Iraqi Kurds' political autonomy and political strength in post- Saddam Iraq is causing friction with Arab leaders in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. However, an overall reduction in violence in Iraq, coupled with continued U.S. political influence\r\nover the Kurds, is likely to prevent a destabilizing escalation of the Iraqi Kurd-Arab disputes. Also see CRS Report RL31339, Iraq:\r\nPost-Saddam Governance and Security, by Kenneth Katzman.",
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      "date": "2008-08-05",
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      "title": "The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq",
      "summary": "The Kurdish-inhabited region of northern Iraq is relatively peaceful and prospering economically, but the Iraqi Kurds' political autonomy and political strength in post- Saddam Iraq is causing friction with Arab leaders in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. However, an overall reduction in violence in Iraq, coupled with continued U.S. political influence\r\nover the Kurds, is likely to prevent a destabilizing escalation of the Iraqi Kurd-Arab disputes. Also see CRS Report RL31339, Iraq:\r\nPost-Saddam Governance and Security, by Kenneth Katzman.",
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      "title": "The Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq",
      "summary": "The Kurdish-inhabited region of northern Iraq is relatively peaceful and prospering economically, but the Iraqi Kurds' political autonomy and political strength in post-Saddam Iraq is causing backlash in Arab Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. The Iraqi Kurds' ties to the United States and the U.S. drive to stabilize Iraq are increasingly less likely to help the Kurds to parry these challenges.",
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