A very different Iraq

I'm in Kurdistan at the moment, which is broadly the northern part of Iraq. A brief history lesson. In 1992 Kurdistan (or the Federal Region of Kurdistan to give it the full name) became semi autonomous. It has its own constitution and has passed some of its own laws, although these are not significantly different from Iraqi law. One difference is that laws passed by the CPA in 2003 and 2004 are not recognised here as they were not legislated through the regional assembly (parliament). Between 1992 and 1997 all sorts of shit was hitting the fan as rival factions battled for power, being the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and KDP (Kurdish Democratic Party). The PUK was led by Jalal Talibani and the KDP by Massoud Barzani. These days they are President of Iraq and Kurdistan respectively. After the imposition of the UN's Oil for Food program in 1997 and intervention by the US, things calmed down and they've been working alongside ever since.

Being here is bizarre - I don't even feel like I am in Iraq. Life here is normal. There are no bombs, rockets, mortars, helicopters or kidnappings. There is no razor wire. Kids go to school and walk down the street freely, restaurants do a bustling trade and there are hundreds of them, many run by people who fled Baghdad. So yeah, it really is hard to believe this is Iraq. I'm not looking forward to going back to Baghdad this time. I'm sure that at some point in 2007, maybe in Spring or Summer, even the IZ is going to be getting too dangerous. So I will hunker down in Baghdad for the next couple of months but after that I'll have to either come up to Kurdistan or get out of Iraq altogether. Not much use making fistfuls of dollars if your fists have been blown off or you're dead.