WASHINGTON– The Kurdistan region of Iraq held a landmark referendum Monday that is expected to result in a decision to create its own nation, a vote that the State Department said left the United States “deeply disappointed.”
While the results of the referendum are not binding, experts close to the matter sharply disagreed on how United States foreign policy could be affected by an independent Kurdistan.
“The State Department is right to have concerns,” said Emma Ashford, research fellow at the libertarian CATO Institute. “The United States is in a no-win situation here: An independent Kurdistan is clearly popular among the population and would reward the groups that have helped us massively in the fight against ISIS. But it could also destabilize Iraq and potentially cause conflicts involving Iran, Turkey and other states.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned strongly against the referendum, telling Iraqi Kurds that they will “not be able to find food” if they vote in favor of independence. The PKK, a Kurdish revolutionary group, has been in an armed conflict with Turkey since 1984. Some Turkish-Americans expressed concern that the United States would be effectively siding with terrorists if it were to honor a “yes” vote in the referendum.
“We are concerned that the PKK, a terrorist organization according to the U.S., EU and Turkey, and an organized crime outfit, will seize the opportunity to exploit nationalism and hatred against non-Kurds,” said Guany Evinch, co-chairman of the Turkish American National Steering Committee.
Rachel Avraham, senior media research analyst at the Center for Near East Policy Research, argued that the concerns over the PKK were overblown and that an independent Kurdish state could be a major ally to the United States in the war on terror.
“The Kurds in Iraq are not fans of the PKK at all,” she said. “The Kurds are actually a major stabilizing factor. Right now, we rely on Iraq and Iran in the fight against ISIS. Kurds are much more stable allies.”
In response to the referendum, the Iraqi government gave the Kurdish regional government until Friday to hand over control of the region’s airports and borders. If the order is ignored, the government said it is prepared to suspend all international flights to and from the Kurdish region.
The Washington Kurdish Institute, which seeks to raise Americans’ awareness of Kurdish issues, argued that the United States should back the referendum, drawing parallels between the American war of independence nd the Kurds’ fight for independence against what it said was an oppressive Iraqi regime.
“Kurdistan means independence from the failed project known as Iraq,” said Yousif Ismael, the institute’s director of policy and media. “After 2003, we were liberated from Saddam, but things still never improved for us Kurds.”
The Kurdish Regional Government Representation in Washington agreed. “This decision was careful and sober, and taken after more than a decade of sectarian and damaging leadership by Baghdad,” an official said.