Kurds Struggle to Avoid Regional Conflicts

Following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, the two armed Kurdish parties worked toward establishing a united administration, and demonstrated unprecedented unity in dealing with many national and regional issues. However, in more recent years, the two parties have pursued different policies vis-a-vis such crucial issues as dealing with the central government in Baghdad and the extent of their relationships with regional actors.

But when IS overran large parts of Iraq in June 2014, the KDP was initially reluctant to act against the group, viewing its emergence as an outcome of the Shiite-Sunni conflict among Iraqi Arab populations — a conflict that did not involve the Kurds. In contrast, the PUK set out to engage IS in northern Diyala province in June 2014, arguing that IS posed a threat to Kurdistan's security.

Now that the Sunni Arab states, mostly from the Gulf, have formed a military and diplomatic coalition to check Iran's growing influence, Iraqi Kurds are asking how they will be impacted by the tectonic power shifts occurring in the region.

"There is a big struggle taking place in the region and no side will be immune to its sparks," said Firsat Sofi, a KDP member in the Iraqi Kurdistan parliament. "If Arab states undermine Iran's interests in Yemen, then Iran will seek to retaliate in a place like Iraq or Syria, where it has established its presence."

Despite the occasional leaning toward one regional power or the other, Iraqi Kurds have not become active members of regional conflicts. Whereas the Iraqi government has struggled to develop ties with Sunni Arab states and Turkey, the Kurdish region has been on relatively stable terms with Iran, Sunni Arab countries and Turkey, despite occasional ups and downs.