The Liberation of Kurdistan

By chance, coincidence, or just conscious choice, two of my favorite TV programs, Top Gear UK and Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, both set an episode in the northern region of Iraq know as Kurdistan. They both began their respective programs with a similar theme, essentially, “what on earth are we thinking and how many armed guards do we need?” Yet after the initial, expected, reactions and lengthy segments detailing their intense “Situation Defcon 1” preparations, both programs took a sharp turn.

It came as a surprise how many parallels were drawn between the two vastly different shows. Their first stops especially left an impression, as it did on all the hosts.

Nested in the North of Iraq is the, only recently, officials recognized region of Kurdistan, land of the Kurds. To most Americans the only mention of the Kurds they remember is from the media attention given to Saddam Hussein’s crimes against humanity. It was the Kurdish culture, and the Kurdish people, that came under chemical attack by order of Saddam, no doubt one of his most widely loathed acts of tyranny. When Saddam was deposed, the Kurds were left with a very foreign sense of freedom (it should be noted that the Kurds have been, and still are, unfairly persecuted in Iraq, Turkey, and the surrounding regions). In the years that followed, Kurdistan was allowed to blossom. Amusement parks and scenic mountain picnic spots are now normal…in Iraq.

When talking with the locals, Burdain naturally asked how the U.S. was viewed by the Kurds. The reactions was to be expected, they were eternally grateful and, as alluded to in a previous post, could not imagine them leaving. With so many pessimistic views on the war in the Middle East, it’s refreshing to see tangible signs of good being done. Whether or not the region can sustain itself without U.S. intervention is not yet entirely clear, but with it, at least for now, there is peace and stability in Kurdistan.

Kurdistan region, for reference