Kurds May Face Retribution When U.S. Leaves Iraq, WSU Researcher Says

King said that statistics from 2005 suggest that the Kurds are the heaviest participants, proportionally, in the Iraqi military and Iraqi Kurds have cooperated with and supported the America troops. She said that unless measures are taken to reduce the possibility of retribution by non-Kurdish Iraqis, Kurds will be victimized once the American presence scales down. “Most Iraqi Kurdish people started out very supportive of the American effort in Iraq. As victims of attempted genocide by the Baathist government, they eagerly supported the American project to depose the regime. But on my recent trips to Iraqi Kurdistan I have begun to hear grumblings of discontent as people wonder aloud what the future holds.”

King has been studying Kurdish culture since 1994, when she chose this community as research topic for her doctoral degree. She also studied their language in order to conduct her research. Although King’s research has focused on the Kurdish diaspora and their sense of community across borders, the time King has spent with Kurdish people has given her a unique perspective as to how this ethnic group will fare if American troops leave Iraq.

“I favor a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq as soon as possible. My hope is that as part of its plan to leave Iraq, the U.S. will work with regional and national authorities to create structures that consider the Kurds’ special security needs in light of their lack of a powerful regional patron. For example, a comprehensive reconciliation, resettlement and administration plan for Kirkuk would go a long way toward easing tensions between Kurdish and other Iraqis, and would protect civilians of all ethnic groups living there from retribution.”

King, who received her doctorate degree from WSU, has also focused part of her research on kinship and gender. She is supportive of Kurdish people who are working to make their society more open for women, who traditionally have had limited rights compared to men.

She has published several articles, book chapters and columns about her research, including the most recent “A 16-year cycle of treachery,” published Jan. 10 in the International Herald Tribune. King has worked with and observed Kurdish communities in the U.S., Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. Between 2000 and 2006 she was on the faculty of the American University of Beirut and held fellowships at the University of Kentucky and the University of California, San Diego.