Review
Kurds have for centuries occupied large parts of the mountainous areas of the lands that now comprise the states of Turkey, Iraq and Iran. Though Muslims, they are ethnically distinct from the majority populations of those countries, and they have been repressed, often violently, in all of them. Kurds have been subject to deportation, mass murder, political repression, forced assimilation, and large-scale military assault. Despite this history (and the nearly universal desire among them for self-government) Kurds have been unable to develop a serious and united political vehicle for their aspirations. Vicious internal power struggles among Kurdish leaders have seriously undermined the national cause, as have cynical interventions on all sides by the great powers. The Kurds: State And Minority In Turkey, Iraq And Iran surveys the history of the conflict, the cultures of the Kurds and their antagonists, the byzantine political infighting and maneuvering of Kurdish leaders, and the self-serving interventions by outside powers. The Kurds is essential reading for anyone attempting to understand the current Kurdish situation in the middle east. -- Midwest Book Review
