'We Need to Be In Baghdad'.(Kurdish politics)(Interview)

The ethnic Kurdish northern third of Iraq has been independent of Saddam Hussein's rule for a decade, thanks to a U.S. and British enforced no-flight zone. But as America gears up to force a regime change in Baghdad, Kurdish groups fear they could be left out of the political process. The Kurds are the largest Iraqi opposition force, with up to 70,000 soldiers on the ground. But because neighboring Turkey fears that a powerful--or even independent--Kurdish entity in Iraq will incite separatism among its own Kurdish minority, Washington has been cautious about including Kurds in its plans for war or even the subsequent peace. Barham Salih, prime minister of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the two political groups controlling Iraqi Kurdistan, spoke to NEWSWEEK's Owen Matthews about the Kurds' uneasy position. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Do you want independence for Kurdistan?

SALIH: The Kurds have chosen--our future lies within Iraq. We are ready to be at the forefront of a democratic, federal Iraq. We want a real say in the country's future. We will not allow others to decide the future of this country, which history has made us part of.

Is Iraq a viable state?

Iraq is already divided along ethnic lines--Kurds, Sunni and Shiite Arabs, and it is growing more polarized because of the ethnically divisive policies of [Saddam's] regime. If they want [Kurds] to be Iraqis, they must deal with us as full-fledged citizens of Iraq. Iraq cannot be united unless all its constituent elements feel included. We have a lot to contribute--our success in building civil society and self-government. [Iraqi Kurdistan] is a bright spot of freedom in the heart of the Middle East. For 80 years we have been excluded, and they ask us to call ourselves Iraqis. This is a bit much, I think. Now the tables are turning--the perennial victims of Iraq, the Kurds, may turn out to be its saviors.

Are you concerned that the United States might support another Arab strongman to replace Saddam?

What we have heard from the U.S. is that they support a democratic vision for Iraq. I personally heard the vice president say that the U.S. will not risk its servicemen to replace one dictator with another. The Humpty Dumpty of Iraqi dictatorship cannot be put together... Iraq has been a miserable failure. To ensure reform we need fundamental change. Another dictator will just continue the pattern of internal repression and external aggression. Unless we ...