Bad Things
Safe in Kurdistan
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Erbil, Iraq
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Iraqi Kurdistan is the safest place in Iraq. This spring I returned there to better understand just how Kurdistan was keeping itself safe, even as Arab Iraq descends into civil war. Naturally, I began with what I could see: the Kurds have an effective police force and a strong military. A monopoly on violence is the obvious answer, one which suggests that bringing peace to the Arab south won't be more difficult than providing guns and training. Unfortunately, the real answer turns out to be much simpler to see but the solution much harder to realize.

These photographs cover much of Iraqi Kurdistan, from the Iranian border to Kurdish outposts near Makhmour in the mixed Arab-Kurdish area near Mosul. Each reflects an aspect of why the Kurds are able to protect themselves, for the first time, from their Arab neighbors to the south.
Writings
Safe in Kurdistan
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Kurdish Special Forces on guard duty, 2004
Kurdish PDK Peshmurga "Special Forces" soldiers on guard at the U.S. Special Forces safe house in Dohuk. The "Special Forces" are the best of the Peshmurga, the basis for their regular army, and well respected by the U.S. military. They are used by the U.S. military for guard duty all over Iraq.
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Kurdish Special Forces on guard duty, 2004
Kurdish PDK Peshmurga "Special Forces" soldiers on guard at the U.S. Special Forces safe house in Dohuk. The "Special Forces" are the best of the Peshmurga, the basis for their regular army, and well respected by the U.S. military. They are used by the U.S. military for guard duty all over Iraq.
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Captain Marwan Lazgin Ahmed, 2004
Captain Marwan Lazgin Ahmed, of the Kurdish Zawita special forces company guarding the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) buildings in Makhmour, Iraq.
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Captain Marwan Lazgin Ahmed, 2004
Captain Marwan Lazgin Ahmed, of the Kurdish Zawita special forces company guarding the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) buildings in Makhmour, Iraq.
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Kurdish special forces cooks, 2004
Cooks at the Kurdish special forces army base in Zawita, near Dohuk, Iraq.
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Kurdish special forces cooks, 2004
Cooks at the Kurdish special forces army base in Zawita, near Dohuk, Iraq.
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Kurdish guards on patrol in truck, 2004
Kurdiish special forces watch from the back of a pick-up truck during a patrol near Makhmour, Iraq.
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Kurdish guards on patrol in truck, 2004
Kurdiish special forces watch from the back of a pick-up truck during a patrol near Makhmour, Iraq.
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Posing Children for a Portrait, 2006
Portrait photographers abound in Kurdish Iraq, like this photographer in front of the old city in Erbil, and every scenic spot has a man with a camera waiting to shoot your picture. You pick up the print the next day.
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Posing Children for a Portrait, 2006
Portrait photographers abound in Kurdish Iraq, like this photographer in front of the old city in Erbil, and every scenic spot has a man with a camera waiting to shoot your picture. You pick up the print the next day.
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Men in the Market, 2006
Two men selling books in the market in Suliamani, Iraq.
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Men in the Market, 2006
Two men selling books in the market in Suliamani, Iraq.
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Kurdish Military Cadets, 2006
Kurdish Cadets at Kanigama, the 1st Combat School, an officer training school near Sulaimani in Iraqi Kurdistan.
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Kurdish Military Cadets, 2006
Kurdish Cadets at Kanigama, the 1st Combat School, an officer training school near Sulaimani in Iraqi Kurdistan.
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Kurdish Soldiers Exercising, 2006
Kalachuwan Military Officer Academy (PUK) in Iraqi Kurdistan.
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Kurdish Soldiers Exercising, 2006
Kalachuwan Military Officer Academy (PUK) in Iraqi Kurdistan.
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Warming Up, 2003
Players warm up during a match between the Iraqi national football (soccer) team and the Kurdistan all-city team, in Erbil, Iraq, in the first post-war match.
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Warming Up, 2003
Players warm up during a match between the Iraqi national football (soccer) team and the Kurdistan all-city team, in Erbil, Iraq, in the first post-war match.
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Kanigoma Military School, 2006
Military officers-in-training at the 1st Combat School at Kamigama, near Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan, uner the command of Major General Karaman Kemal Omar.
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Kanigoma Military School, 2006
Military officers-in-training at the 1st Combat School at Kamigama, near Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan, uner the command of Major General Karaman Kemal Omar.
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Kurdish Merchant, 2006
A Kurdish merchent watches U.S. soldiers walk through the bazaar in Sulaimani, Iraq.
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Kurdish Merchant, 2006
A Kurdish merchent watches U.S. soldiers walk through the bazaar in Sulaimani, Iraq.
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Erbil, Iraq, 2006
Downtown Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, seen from the old city on the hill.
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Erbil, Iraq, 2006
Downtown Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, seen from the old city on the hill.
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Shop window with posters, 2004
A man peers between posters of pop singers on a shop window in Dohuk, Iraq.
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Shop window with posters, 2004
A man peers between posters of pop singers on a shop window in Dohuk, Iraq.
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Kurdish Soldier Hides His Face, 2006
A soldier guarding the bridge in Gali Ali Beg, a popular vacation spot in Iraqi Kurdistan, hides his face from the camera.
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Kurdish Soldier Hides His Face, 2006
A soldier guarding the bridge in Gali Ali Beg, a popular vacation spot in Iraqi Kurdistan, hides his face from the camera.
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VIPs in Kurdistan, 2006
(left to right) Omer Fatah (Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government), Adil Abdul Mahdi (Vice-President of Iraq), and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilza at the ceremony for the unification of the PDK and PUK under the Kurdistan Regional Government. The so-called unificiation was in name only, since the most important parts of each party were not merged (military, judiciary, and police).
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VIPs in Kurdistan, 2006
(left to right) Omer Fatah (Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government), Adil Abdul Mahdi (Vice-President of Iraq), and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilza at the ceremony for the unification of the PDK and PUK under the Kurdistan Regional Government. The so-called unificiation was in name only, since the most important parts of each party were not merged (military, judiciary, and police).
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