Yildiz (executive director, Kurdish Human Rights Project) reviews the recent history and current political and economic issues concerning the Kurdish people of Iraq. His historical narrative covers the emergence of Mullah Mustafa Barzani as a prominent Kurdish leader in the 1940s, the ethnic cleansing of Saddam Hussein's al-Anfal Campaigns, the first Gulf War, de facto Iraqi Kurdish independence in the 1990s, and the second Gulf War. He also offers overviews of political developments, human rights issues, internal displacement of Kurds, economic and humanitarian affairs in Iraqi Kurdistan, and relations with Turkey and with the Kurds in Turkey and other neighboring countries. Present-day issues discussed include political structures, insurgency and sectarianism, current legal and human rights issues, the issue of autonomy, war crimes tribunals for the al-Anfal Campaigns, the status of the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk, and the land question. Distributed in the US by the U. of Michigan Press. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Read Less