The Middle East's Forgotten Kurds

Although they number 30 million, you will rarely read of persecution against the Kurds in the world's leading English language newspapers: No mention of the "plight of the Kurds", no mention of pogroms against the Kurds, and no mention of efforts to purge the Kurds of their cultural identity.

In Thomas Friedman's op-ed, "Goodbye Iraq, and Good Luck", in The New York Times of today's date, he describes a meeting in Kirkuk that Mike Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, held with provincial leaders - Sunnis, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians. My online comment, which will no doubt be lost in an ocean of vituperation vented at Friedman, focuses on the Kurds:

Friedman tells us that Iraqis "still have not figured out whom they want to be as a country." Friedman also highlights the joke told by the Kurdish representative at the meeting with Mike Mullen.

The Kurds? President Obama did not dare mention them when he gave his June speech on the Middle East in Cairo, which called for a "new beginning", because any such reference would have antagonized Turkey; the Sunni elite in Iraq; Iran, which is the object of overtures by Obama; and Syria, with which the Obama administration is seeking lines of communication.

There are some 30 million Kurds living in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria, and although they have long sought their independence, they have been oppressed and ignored.

In Turkey, where the Kurds comprise 20% of the population, they have been categorized as "Mountain Turks" and "Eastern Turks" to disguise their identity. Over the years, they have been relocated, their language has been banned, they have lived under martial law, and their revolts have been suppressed.

In Iraq, where the Kurds amount to 17% of the population, they have suffered deportation and mass murder. Saddam's "Anfal" campaign against Kurds in 1988 resulted in the destruction of thousands of Kurd villages and the death of almost 100,000 Kurd civilians.

In Iran, where the Kurds total 7% of the population, they have long struggled to maintain their ethnic identity and achieve autonomy. After the Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini declared a "holy war" against Kurdish rebels. Kurdish human rights activists continue to be murdered and imprisoned.

In Syria, where the Kurds comprise 9% of the population, the Syrian government has at various times banned the use of Kurdî, the Kurdish language, and taken many other actions, including the banning of books written in Kurdî, in order to deprive the Kurds of their ethnic identity.

Peace talks along the lines of Dayton? An interesting idea, but first it will be necessary to acknowledge the identity and aspirations of the Middle East's Kurds.

In 1991 Iraqi troops sought to quell a Kurdish uprising in northern Iraq; however, the U.S. and the U.K. responded with Operation Provide Comfort and Operation Northern Watch, creating a no-fly zone aimed at protecting the Kurds from Saddam's vengeance. In 2003 the Kurds greeted American troops in northern Iraq with jubilation.

Iraq's Kurds have enjoyed some measure of autonomy since 1992 and will be unlikely to accept anything that might compromise that freedom. Should Obama continue to reach out to Iran and Syria, let us hope that such overtures to repressive regimes will not come at the expense of the Kurds.