The effect of the Kurdish fight for autonomy in both Iraq and elsewhere, has changed the Middle East’s landscape. This includes subnational or internal fracturing of Kurdish parties, national barriers, and newfound international relations as well as political alliances with historical rivals. Gareth Stansfield illustrates this point when he uses Kurdish history in Iraq as and cites economic and political relations with Turkey as signaling a potential Kurdish state, “By embracing this agenda, Ankara is actively knowingly and willingly supporting a trajectory leading sooner rather than later to Kurdish secession,” (Stansfield 2013, 274). Michael Gunter in Arab-Kurdish relations paints a similar picture in reference to international relations
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He too mentions oil exports from the Kurdistan region but relates Anti Kurd-Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al -Shahristani approved of the pipelines, (Gunter 2011, 1626-1627). Thus, Gunter would disagree with Stansfield, in that it was more national than international issues, which caused prevention of a Kurdish state. A major issue for the Kurds was the enforcement of both the Iraqi Constitution and Federalism. Gunter points out, while the Kurds initially had a majority of the seats in their region in the 2009 election they lost by a wide margin, (Gunter 2011, 1627). Subsequently, tensions between Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga forces caused further unrest. Prime Minister Barham Saliah called American efforts to force both groups to conduct patrols together with American forces, as “band aids” and others stated upon American withdrawal from Iraq a civil war would occur within hours, (Gunter 2011, 1628). Demonstrations from pro and anti-Kurd parties, further inflamed violence and the Iraqi army’s right to enter Kurdish regions to quell the unrest caused constitutional crisis. Gunter wrote, “Article 110/2 of the KRG’s draft constitution declares that the KRG president may only ‘allow the entry of federal armed forces…to the KRG region when needed with the approval of the Parliament of Iraqi Kurdistan provided that their tasks and the place and duration of their presence shall be specified,” (Gunter 2011, 1632). Gunter would agree both national and to some level international issues have prevented the birth of a Kurdish
He too mentions oil exports from the Kurdistan region but relates Anti Kurd-Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al -Shahristani approved of the pipelines, (Gunter 2011, 1626-1627). Thus, Gunter would disagree with Stansfield, in that it was more national than international issues, which caused prevention of a Kurdish state. A major issue for the Kurds was the enforcement of both the Iraqi Constitution and Federalism. Gunter points out, while the Kurds initially had a majority of the seats in their region in the 2009 election they lost by a wide margin, (Gunter 2011, 1627). Subsequently, tensions between Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga forces caused further unrest. Prime Minister Barham Saliah called American efforts to force both groups to conduct patrols together with American forces, as “band aids” and others stated upon American withdrawal from Iraq a civil war would occur within hours, (Gunter 2011, 1628). Demonstrations from pro and anti-Kurd parties, further inflamed violence and the Iraqi army’s right to enter Kurdish regions to quell the unrest caused constitutional crisis. Gunter wrote, “Article 110/2 of the KRG’s draft constitution declares that the KRG president may only ‘allow the entry of federal armed forces…to the KRG region when needed with the approval of the Parliament of Iraqi Kurdistan provided that their tasks and the place and duration of their presence shall be specified,” (Gunter 2011, 1632). Gunter would agree both national and to some level international issues have prevented the birth of a Kurdish