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LI Ruiheng | The Evolution of U.S. Foreign Policy towards the Iraqi Kurdish Issue
Date：2019-09-04 Author：
LI Ruiheng
Department of Arabic Language and Culture, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University
The Chinese Journal of American Studies, Volume 5, 2018
Abstract:
With the U.S. interests expanding and deepening in the Middle East, the Kurdish issue began to come into the calculations of American foreign policy. Based on Iraq's special strategic position and evolution of its situations, the Iraqi Kurdish issue has played a greater and longer-term role in U.S. diplomacy. Taking the principle of “self-determination”proposed by the United States after World War I as the starting point, the 1991 Gulf War as a turning point, and the establishment of Kurdish no-fly zone as an important symbol, the U.S. foreign policy on the Iraqi Kurdish issue can be divided into two major periods: before and after the Gulf War. It also can be subdivided into 8 periods according to its characteristics. The relations between the United States and Iraqi Kurds have undergone an important transformation, but this has not changed America's pragmatic position on the Iraqi Kurdish issue since it is, essentially, only part of America's handling of relations with Iraq and the Middle East. According to its domestic political situation, international strategy, Middle East interests, specific changes in Iraq's politics and regional situations, the United States constantly adjusts its policies on this issue to pursue its hegemony in the Middle East.
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