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US Diplomatic Correspondence and the Kurds
Abstract by Dr. Hakan Ozoglu On Session 021  (Future Prospects for the Kurds)

On Thursday, December 1 at 5:00 pm

2011 Annual Meeting

Abstract
After surveying the history of the US position towards the Kurds in the Middle East, this paper will first discuss the future prospects and challenges of Kurdish Nationalism in relation to the US involvement in Iraq. It will then move on to examine the same issue in regards to Kurds in Turkey. The conclusion of the paper will be the comparison between the future prospects of Kurdish political movements in Iraq and Turkey as the US forces continue to disengage in Iraq and Turkey comes out of new general elections in the summer of 2011. I will base my comments on the US archival sources including Wikileaks, and CIA documents that have become available to the general public due to Freedom of Information Act. These sources provide us with an understanding of US diplomats' views on the Kurds and their analysis/recommendations to Washington. As primary sources, these documents are of great value; however, they should be evaluated under a great scrutiny. My main conclusion will be to point out the many variables that could potentially affect the future of Kurdish movements in the Middle East. The subject of this paper fits into the proposed panel since it attempts to discuss the future prospects of the Kurds in Turkey and Iraq. I believe that such predictions should be based upon available historical record. That is why, I will be referring to several historical documents to demonstrate the shifting positions of the Turkish and the US governments. After discussing the reliability of several US diplomatic cables on the Kurds, my paper will make cautious predictions for the future of the Kurdish political movements in Turkey and Iraq.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
None
Sub Area
None