(14. Juli) It’s no secret that the Kurds see the civil war in Iraq as their opportunity for independence, but until now the US has publicly insisted on keeping Iraq a unitary state, even to the point that the Kurds began complaining that the US was the main obstacle to their national aspirations. (…)

Iraqis can thank Nouri al-Maliki for the sea change in opinion, as well as ISIS being the only other realistic alternative.