Timeline of KRG-U.S. Relations
May 2010: The U.S. House of Representatives approved Resolution 873, calling for the establishment of a U.S. consulate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Resolution signifies the United States’ continued support for the stability, prosperity, human rights and democracy of the Kurdistan Region, even as U.S. troops redeploy in accordance with the Status of Forces Agreement.
January 2010: President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, is invited to meet with President Barack Obama at the Oval Office, where the two leaders discussed continued support for the Kurdistan Region. During the trip, President Barzani then met with other U.S. officials, including Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton, and a bipartisan group of Members of Congress, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman, Lindsey Graham and John Kerry.
December 2009: The White House releases a statement in support of the Kurdistan Regional government: “The President and the Vice President [of the United States] confirmed the U.S. commitment to a long-term relationship with Iraq, including the KRG.”
September 2009: Vice President Joseph P. Biden meets with KRG President Masoud Barzani in Erbil. During a joint press conference, Vice President Biden makes the following statement: “…the United States remains committed to a long-term, bilateral relationship with a united Iraq. We stand ready to continue this partnership with President Barzani and the other leaders of Iraq—all those who are willing to make this country safer—and to take the concrete, although difficult steps that still remain to ensure Iraq’s long-term success and unity.”
July 2009: The United States congratulates the people of the Kurdistan Region for holding “free and fair” elections for the Region’s Parliament, which features more female elected officials than any other government in the Middle East region.
April 2009: Turkey, Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the United States agree to set up a joint command center in northern Iraq to gather intelligence and to cooperate on military assignments.
2003: The people of the Kurdistan Region freely join U.S. and British forces in defeating Saddam Hussein’s regime. Four Kurds were appointed by the U.S. to the Iraqi Governing Council, including Masoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani.
2002: The leaders of the two main Kurdish factions, KDP and PUK, that control northern Iraq sign a reconciliation agreement as the United States forges a united front against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
1998: Direct United States mediation leads to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) signing a formal ceasefire in Washington Agreement.
1991: The people in Kurdistan rose up against the Iraqi government days after the Gulf War ceasefire. Within weeks the Iraqi military and helicopters suppressed the uprising. Tens of thousands of people fled to the mountains, causing a humanitarian crisis. The U.S., Britain and France declared a no-fly zone at the 36th parallel and refugees return. Months later, Saddam Hussein withdraws the Iraqi Army and imposes an internal blockade on Kurdistan.
1975: Mulla Mustafa gives the order to the Kurdish army (Peshmerga) to abandon the struggle against an Iraq offensive. Mulla Mustafa obtained refuge in the United States.
1975: OPEC holds a meeting in Algiers, attended for the first time by its members’ top leaders. Here the Algiers Accord between Baghdad and Teheran put an end to their border dispute and brought all Iranian help to the Kurdish rebellion to a halt. The U.S. abruptly withdrew its support for the Kurds and the rebellion collapsed. Many thousands of Kurdish fighters and their families are forced to flee to Iran to escape the pursuing Iraqi army.
