The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has appealed to US President Joe Biden seeking to intervene in the Kurdistan region, following the deepening crisis with Iraq’s central government in Baghdad. Despite this not being any news, tensions between Erbil and Baghdad have increased over budgetary allocations, oil sales and territorial tensions for the Kurdistan part in Iraq, especially the province of Kirkuk.
This historical conjecture has forced the Kurdistan region to make extraordinary concessions to conserve the security in the region, up to the point where the Kurds have sent Baghdad 85.000 barrels of crude everyday without anything in exchange, which would have to be about $380 million per month. Therefore, the status quo of the region has become unsustainable, with the risk of having another civil conflict in Iraq.
The U.S and the KRG have been exchanging letters, showing their respect for the situation and claiming for their urgent help to alleviate the situation. But, why the U.S? Since the U.S launched Operation Desert Storm (1990) to impose a no-fly zone over Iraq Kurdistan and the incursion in Iraq against the power of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the country has been following a federal model imposed by the Americans that has been supported ever since, and now they hope for their ability to diffuse the crisis.
On the other hand, there is Iran, who sees the Iraqi Kurdistan pro-Americanism leadership as a threat. This neighbor has been on and off trying to weaken the KRG through its Iraqi Shiite allies, and now threaten to attack the Kurdistan region as well. Also, the date where these opposition groups have occurred coincides with the first anniversary of the death of Masha Amini, the Iranian kurdish woman killed in hands of police, which has had a big repercussion for the area and for the international media.
We have seen that the U.S reliable ally in the Middle East, the Kurdistan region, has both bought its fare share and its bad side since it is still a economically strangled, politically and legally pressured region, as a letter to President Biden follows. It is inevitable that Iran backs factions in Iraq in its favor, but what is evitable is the unacceptable treatment of Kurds, either in Iraq or in Turkey. The U.S reaffirming commitment in Iraq can both bring strength for the Kurds and also distrust if the central government in Baghdad continues to disregard this region, who is also supported by Iran as a prime energy supplier.
References
Zaman A. (2023, September 12th). In letter to Biden, Barzani warns of Iraqi Kurdistan’s collapse, urges mediation. Al-Monitor. Retrieved from:
Rudaw. (2023, September 19th). US congressmen urge Biden to end ‘unacceptable treatment’ of KRG by Iran-backed factions. Retrieved from:
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/19092023
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
