complications

Just to add on to the post below, Michael Yglesias sarcastically takes apart David Ignatius' piece recognizing the "new" risk of Kurdish ascendancy in Iraq. Obviously, the complications of Turkey and a strong Kurdish state in the North, which could conceivably control not only Kirkuk but also a large portion of the oil reserves in Iraq is an issue that predates Saddam himself. For Ignatius to label this a new crisis is lazy and absurd.

However, the issue itself is illustrative of the simplistic world view of Perle and the neo-conservatives. The Kurdish question has been swept under the rug while the Kurds quite cleverly hold their cards close to their vests, build a strong regional base and deepen their control over Kirkuk. Kurdish flags now wave over that city. They are biding their time and keeping an eye over the carnage to the South, which of course is in their interest. They are quite happy to let the US troops bear the burden of the bloodshed, rooting out the Sunni militias. Sadr, of course, has taken the same approach in Baghdad, moving aside while the US meets his enemies head on.

The Kurds do nuance. George Bush proudly does not. Perle blithely ignores that such complications even exist, keeping his eyes on some lofty Jeffersonian ideal that bears little reality to the facts on the ground.