Let me be clear, the issue of the Kurds is a thorny one. As what is arguably the largest ethnic group in the world without a nation, there is clearly a moral case to be made for statehood for some of the areas in which they live.

However, there is also a compelling counter argument to be made that any such arrangement, or process toward such an arrangement would be severely destabilizing to the region^*.

Let me make this clear, this post is NOT about a solution to the “Kurdish Problem”^†, though I do favor a homeland for the Kurds.

Rather it is a commentary on on the Bush administration’s foreign policy failures, and while I agree with its basic thesis, that the Bush Administration has ruined everything that it touched, I am concerned about the disdain that is shown regarding the Kurd and Kurdish nationalism.

I would note this paragraph comes to mind:

The Iraqi leadership, already presiding over a failed state, agonized at being caught in the crossfire. The Iraqi president, the avuncular Kurd Jalal Talabani, hypocritically condemned al-Assad for urging a foreign military invasion of an Arab country, even though he himself had supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Massoud Barzani, the pudgy turbaned leader of the Kurdistan Regional Authority, warned that his government would defend its citizens and not sit idly by if Turkish troops rolled through Kurdish cities in Iraq. On Sunday, the Iraqi Parliament, having been unable to agree on virtually any internal issue or enact any benchmark legislation, promptly passed a resolution condemning the Turkish Parliament.

(Emphasis mine)
Let me be clear, the basic facts of the situation are accurate. What struck me was that fact that these were the only people who had their motivations described (hypocritically condemned) or were described physically at all (the “avuncular Kurd Jalal Talabani” and “Massoud Barzani, the pudgy turbaned leader).”

This appears to be a conscious decision to diminish these figures. And I would note that whenever I read Juan Cole^‡, it is the rule, rather than the exception to feel the same sense of disdain dripping from his keys as regards the Kurds.

^*Truth be told, before Bush and His Evil Minions^™ got their hands on US Middle East policy, I would have thought that it was impossible to make the region less stable, but they have exceeded my wildest expectations.
^†Yes, I am aware of the historical reference being made.
^‡Truth be told, I do not do so as often as I should, he knows his stuff.