The great betrayal : how America abandoned the Kurds and lost the Middle East / David L. Phillips.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Phillips, David L. (David Lawrence), 1959- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kurds--Iraq--Kirkuk.

Kurds.

Iraq--Foreign relations--United States.

Iraq.

United States--Foreign relations--Iraq.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xx, 236 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations, maps.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.

Summary:

"The twentieth century saw dramatic changes in the once Kurd-dominated Kirkuk region of Iraq. Despite having repeatedly relied on the Kurdish population of Iraq for military support, on three occasions the United States have abandoned their supposed allies in Kirkuk. The Great Betrayal provides a political and diplomatic history of the Kirkuk region and its international relations from the 1920s to the present day. Based on first-hand interviews and previously unseen sources, it provides an accessible account of a region at the very heart of America's foreign policy priorities in the Middle East. In September 2017, Iraqi Kurdistan held an independence referendum, intended to be a starting point on negotiations with the Iraqi Government in Baghdad on the terms of a friendly divorce. Though the US, Turkey, and Iran opposed it, the referendum passed with 93% of the vote. Rather than negotiate, Iraq's Prime Minister Heider al-Abadi issued an ultimatum and then attacked the region. Iraq's Kurdish population have been abandoned, once again, by their supposed allies in the US. In this book, David L. Phillips reveals the failings of America's policies towards Kirkuk and the devastating effects of betraying an ally."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Glossary of Personalities

Foreword

Introduction

Part I • Tragic History: 1 Sovereignty Denied

2 Victims of the Cold War

3 Crackdown

Part II • Struggle: 4 Self-rule

5 Dysfunctional Iraq

6 A Perfect Storm

7 Countdown

Part III • Treachery

8 The Referendum

9 Kirkuk Crisis

10 Elections

Part IV • The Region: 11 Syria Struggles

12 Iran Wins

13 Russia Rises

Epilogue

Notes

Further Reading

Image Section

Notes:

Compliant with Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Content is displayed as HTML full text which can easily be resized or read with assistive technology, with mark-up that allows screen readers and keyboard-only users to navigate easily.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781788319058

1788319052

9781786725769

1786725762

9781786735768

1786735768

OCLC:

1114398579