Kirkuk...Possible Trouble Ahead

Welcome to Kirkuk, Iraq

While reports of Colonel Sanders' delicious chicken in Fallujah and Baghdad trying to woo tourists are certainly positive, let's not forget about potential pitfalls for the young democracy. Long ago (2006), the Iraq Study Group mentioned that the competing ethnic/tribal elements in Kirkuk along with its oil riches could be a potential powder keg. The Iraqis were supposed to settle the issue of how the city would be partitioned at the end of 2007, but the U.N. got the deadline for referendum extended. That deadline is now, and a journalist has been murdered, a judge has almost been assassinated, and the Kurds have walked out of parliament...twice in the last week. The McCain/Obama political jabs are occupying media land, but let's not forget about the important shit.