By most accounts, the past decade has been a blessing for Iraq’s long-oppressed Kurdish minority. As war has devastated the rest of the country, the semiautonomous Kurdish north has enjoyed enough relative stability that some guidebooks now tout it as the “Switzerland of the Middle East.” But while prospects for the region are better than ever, troubles simmer just below the surface—and, with this quick look at Kurdistan’s tumultuous history, it’s not hard to see why.
