Of all the ethnic groups in the Middle East, the Kurds can best determine the success or failure of the US attempt to establish a democracy in Iraq. Since 1991, the Kurds, unlike any other ethnic nation, have experienced the best-protected autonomous governance in the Middle East. During the interim years leading up to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the Kurds have established an independent economy, political structure, and resurgence in nationalism. They hold claim to regions that contain the richest natural recourses in the Middle East, from oil, to agriculture, to water. It is left to the United States to determine if the Iraqi Kurds will be integrated into the new political system of Iraq or allowed to breakaway to establish their own independent state. This thesis aims to examine the options available to the United States in the event the Iraqi Kurds attempt to realize a goal of independence.

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