Abstract
This article examines United States (US) policy toward Iraqi Kurdish issue between 1972 and 1975 with a particular reference to Kissinger’s role and view on the Iraqi Kurdish movement. It shows that during this period, President Nixon’s Secretary of States and National Security Advisor, Hennery Kissinger and his deputy, Brent Scowcroft, took on a significant role in directing the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA’s) Kurdish movement. Throughout this period, Kissinger exposed a strong commitment to the Kurdish question, ignored the CIA’s massive warning about the Kurdish operation, and ordered moreover US aid, including finding ways to transfer to the Kurds Soviet-made arms captured by Israel forces during the Middle East War between 1967 and 1973. As with Nixon, Kissinger rarely consulted with the new US President Ford, keeping him apprised on a need to know basis. He also kept details of the operation hidden from the State Department, which was hoping to build upon Iraq’s positive gestures toward the US. This article show the origin of the Kurdish operation program. It shows in what technique CIA under supervise of Kissinger became involved in the Kurdish issue. It shows the US purpose of involving the Kurdish issue by Kissinger’s perspectives. It show how Kissinger reacted when the Iranian Shah informed him, he was about to settle Kurdish issue with Iraqi government. It shows how much it would cost to the US to save Kurds from this tragic story from Kissinger’s prediction. Specific attention is given to relation between Iraqi Kurds, the United States Secretary of States Kissinger. Similarly Iran and Israel role in the Kurdish issue, as well as their relations with each other. This study is a historical research based on a qualitative research analyses. This study presented a noteworthy amount of positively not published details about these parties. However, in this study, except introduction, this researcher is extensively going to show the origin text of the Iraqi Kurdish issue from Kissinger’s perspectives in his memoirs ‘Renewal Years’, in which he wrote some pages about the Kurdish tragedy of 1975.
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