Much of the current crisis in the Middle East can be traced back to the arbitrary drawing of national boundaries by colonial powers after WWI, following the collapse of the last vestiges of the Ottoman Empire. Tribe, nation and language were ignored as the new countries of Iraq and Syria were created, mixing Sunni and Shia. The Kurds were abandoned altogether and found themselves living in everywhere but without a homeland.
That is now and was then plain wrong. It can no longer work. Neither should it. The Kurds have been the toughest fighters and the best organised of all the militias involved in the fight against IS and have been reliable and essential partners of the US, UK and their allies. Independence is their right and must be their reward. Not straight away in the midst of the ongoing IS war, but not too long after its end, now in sight. This blog will always support the right of a people to independence if they seek it and a majority back it. It may not always be convenient for everybody else, but it is the first building block of democracy and the first principle upon which it is founded. It is the inspiration and foundation of the United States itself.
It is now the Kurd’s turn. They have earned it.