ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how, within the general context of US Middle East policy
as already discussed, US foreign policy towards the Kurds in the Middle East was
formulated from World War II until the onset of Gulf War II (1991). The nature
and stages of US-Kurdish relations are identifi ed, and particular consideration is
given to whether these relations were ‘institutionalized’ and structured, or, by
contrast, were merely ad hoc and unstructured. I examine both the role of the Kurds in the formulation of US foreign policy in the Middle East and the impact
of US foreign policy on Kurdish politics. In particular, changing US policies
towards the various Kurdish movements will be attributed not only to the US
interest in regional stability through US alliances with regional states, but also to
the ‘agency’ and demands of each Kurdish group (within the boundaries imposed
by each state of residence).
