Support for Kurdish autonomy is support for energy security

This article in The Conversations suggests that as the Kurdish Peshmerga, with US air support, fight against Islamic State militants in northern Iraq, attention would increasingly focus on the oil-producing capacity of Kurdistan. Since the end of the first Gulf war the Kurds had established an autonomous region within Iraq with their own parliament and local government.

Now the Kurds were emerging as a buffer against instability in Iraq and Syria, and the region’s oil production was taking on ever greater significance as the West’s energy security came under increasing threat. Kurdistan was not only well positioned to become a reliable buffer against jihadists in the region, but could also respond to energy shortages the West might face.

The writers of the article suggest it may be time for the West to take Kurdish dreams of nationhood more seriously.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Kurdish Independence: Harder Than It Looks http://www.europeansources.info/record/kurdish-independence-harder-than-it-looks/

The Conversation, 15.08.14: Kurds face challenge of unity in face of Islamic State assault http://theconversation.com/kurds-face-challenge-of-unity-in-face-of-islamic-state-assault-30572?

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