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November 30, 2002
Iraqi Kurd leader Masud Barzani (Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP) issued a statement supporting Saddam Husseins call for a peace dialogue to reach a peaceful settlement with the Kurds in northern Iraq. Saddams call for peace came about two weeks after he threatened to invade the Kurdish enclave. Basically, the KDP and its rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK, run by Jala Talabani) control three Iraqi provinces, Irbil (or Arbil), Suleimaniyeh, and Dahuk. (The KDP controls the areas along the Turkish border, the PUK controls the Iranian border.) In his statement Barzani said he does not intend to pursue an independent Kurdish state but wants a federation within a democratic Iraq in which Kurds have their rights. We read this as tactical political maneuvering by the Kurds, prior to US (and/or NATO) military action against Iraq.
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