“Honey, grab the kids and pack up the Passat, we’re going to Iraqi Kurdistan!”
That was Jon Stewart’s sarcastic line on The Daily Show last night, after airing a clip from the Kurdistan Development Corporation’s promo film, “The Other Iraq.” Gordon at Harry’s Place linked to the promo a few days ago.
Iraqi Kurdistan deserves lots of credit for its comparative stability, but Jon Stewart is right: One shouldn’t idealize the place. There’s pervasive official corruption and a growing discontent, particularly among the young, with the ruling KDP and PUK parties. Read my two-part report on the aftermath of the Halabja riot of March 16, 2006, here and here. For more, read the concluding post from my Iraqi Kurdistan travelogue.
P.S. — As I’ve mentioned before, Turkey keeps threatening to invade Iraqi Kurdistan to drive out the PKK. Iran, which has been lobbing shells at alleged PKK positions in northern Iraq, has now indicated that it would support a Turkish invasion. (Hat tip: David Bloom)
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