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Introduction



Of all the ethnic groups in the world, the Kurds are one of the largest

that has no state to call their own. According to historian William

Westermann, "The Kurds can present a better claim to race purity...than

any people which now inhabits Europe." (Bonner, p. 63, 1992) Over the

past hundred years, the desire for an independent Kurdish state has

created conflicts mainly with the Turkish and Iraqi populations in the

areas where most of the Kurds live. This conflict has important

geographical implications as well. The history of the Kurdish nation,

the causes for these conflicts, and an analysis of the situation will be

discussed in this paper.



History of the Kurds



The Kurds are a Sunni Muslim people living primarily in Turkey, Iraq,

and Iran. The 25 million Kurds have a distinct culture that is not at

all like their Turkish, Persian, and Arabic neighbors (Hitchens, p. 36,

1992). It is this cultural difference between the......

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Approximate Word Count: 1970
Approximate Pages: 8 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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