Quote:
Originally Posted by octothorp
There are similarities between Kosovo and Iraqi Kurdistan, but your reading of it is a little mixed up. Iraqi Kurdistan was operating as as autonomous region within Iraq following the first gulf war, similar to how Kosovo was operating under a special UN government, even though both it was within Serbia. The second invasion of Iraq didn't have a whole lot of practical impact on the Kurds; they were already operating as an autonomous region, they're still operating as an autonomous region, and they still have very little chance of getting the political support to declare independence. They can probably continue on indefinately as an autonomous region. On the other hand, because Kosovo had a UN provisional government, its autonomy was dependent on external political support, which could fade over time. It was necessary for them to move forward with their own independence mandate.
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It's also harder geopoliticallly to swing a Kurdish state with Turkey sitting right on the border, who explicitly does not want a Kurdish state.