When I was a student at the University of Birmingham (UK) in 1973, I spent time in a hall of residence which, like an Oxford College, had a High Table for Senior Common Room and a Junior Common Room and we dined formally at the same time. You could dine at High Table any time you felt brave enough for the intellectual debate that went on between SCR members. One of their particular obsessions was the Kurdish Question - a subject that rated an occasional column inch in The Times.

It didn't mean much to me back then,

Then there was the deplorable genocide of several Kurdish villages bt Saddam Hussein back when he really did have weapons of mass destruction. so here is the Kurdish Question in a nutshell. When the borders between Turkey and Iraq were drawn up, they cut the Kurdish population in two - a people who claim the right to an autonomous nation known as Kurdistan. The Iraqui portion of Kurdistan contains oil wealth and in the recent turmoil, having survived Sadddam, these Kurds did well in securing their province and its oil wealth. According to a Kurd I met here in Britain, they somewhat look down their noses at the Kurds the other side of the border who have failed to carve independence from Turkey.

The Turkish rbel Kurds have however been stepping up operations against Turkey from bases in Iraq until last wek, Turkey has voted to mount attacks across the border into Iraq against rebel (terrorist) bases. This is in the light of asking the Iraquis and Coalition forces (US and UK) to prevent the rebel attacks.

My own view is that its time the Kurds got their own homeland again but no doubt the Iraquis want to hold onto the oil and are only waiting for more pressing internal conflicts to allow time to get back to subduing the Kurds again. The last thing they want is another front opening agai on their northern border. The Turkish section of Kurdistan is not so well endowed so would it not be a good idea to persuade the Turks and the Iraquis to relinquish the region to its rightful owners? Turkey desparately wants to get into Europe so there is a bit of leverage that could be used to persuade hem to see sense. Even US interests can hardly be served by the resurrection of this ancient conflict. What say you?