The Kurdish region in Iraq held a "referendum" about splitting off from Iraq to form an independent state. The referendum was highly irregular and the outcome was assured. That such a referendum was held now had more to do with the beleaguered situation of the illegitimate regional president Barzani than with a genuine opportunity to achieve independence. The referendum was non-binding. It is now onto Barzani to declare independence or to set the issue aside in exchange for, essentially, more money.And another article on the Kurdish situation which might also interest you is entitled "Kurdistan – what the referendum is hiding" by the French intellectual Thierry Meyssan. In the article you will encounter the word "Tsahal": this means the military forces of Israel.
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Arabs, Turks, and Persians see the Kurds as a recalcitrant nomadic mountain tribe and stooge of Israeli interests.
Combined the two articles gave me an intellectual headache and a decidedly pessimistic outlook for the future of humans.