US-Kurdish Relations: The 2nd Iraqi-Kurdish War and the Al-Anfal Campaigns

Abstract

This thesis analyses US-Kurdish relations and how they matured over time. Specifically, the Iraqi Kurds are the focus of the study. By describing the events that occurred from the 1960s to the 1980s in Iraq, this research tries to understand the United States’ (US) position and its relationship with the massive killings occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, in Iraqi Kurdistan. With a step-by-step reconstruction of the events, from the 1st Iraqi-Kurdish War in the 1960s to the Al-Anfal Campaigns, led by Saddam Hussein at the end of the 1980s, the Kurds are considered as the main playing actors in the region and in the conflicts. The main question of the thesis is to be able to answer the following dilemma: is the US responsible of betraying the Kurds? Chapter one begins with an analysis on the issue of the ‘Kurdish Question’, Kurdayetî and nationalism, concluding with a specific study on the Kurds of Iraq. Kurdish national-identity and nationalism are examined as well, as they are fundamental in order to understand why and how the Kurds became relevant for the international community. Chapter two extensively evaluates thirty years of conflict between Iraq and the Kurds, from 1960 to 1990. The thirty years of conflict encompass the 1st Iraqi-Kurdish conflict, the 2nd Iraqi-Kurdish War, and the eight Al-Anfal Campaigns. Short- and long-term consequences of the conflicts, as well as the involvement of foreign countries have also been analysed within this chapter, thus only for an explanatory purpose. Whereas chapter three, investigates on the US and how Washington viewed these conflicts, how it interacted, and what were the main reasons that pushed its decision-making process. Hence, considering the 1960s-1980s as a timeframe, the study proceeds with a fact-checking inquiry on primary documents. This research section outlines US thoughts during its relations with the Kurds and shows how realpolitik needs advanced when deciding upon the Gulf’s future. Declassified documents, memorandums, telegrams, and reports were attentively scrutinised, in order to understand US-led decisions towards the Kurds as well as why certain actions were undertaken. This section is the main part of the research, as it shows how everything that was stated in the previous chapters regarding the US had a primary goal which did not include the Kurd’s well-being. The concluding part of the thesis answers the main question of this research, thus if the US betrayed the Kurds. In order to do so, it considers everything stated throughout the study and tries to give an answer that can be either accepted or refused. The final debate moves towards the 1991 Gulf War, the US’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the Syrian conflict. The comparison with these last events was inevitable, as again, the US used the Kurds as their ‘boots on the ground’. However, there is no relation in terms of events, but there is indeed a relation in regard to US-led activities towards the Kurds.