Barham Salih

Barham Salih is prime minister of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of two Kurdish groups that were able in the 1990s to establish autonomous local governments in northern Iraq outside the control of Saddam Hussein. The PUK cooperated with Americans in the 2003 war that deposed Saddam Hussein—a conflict that began shortly after the following viewpoint was first published. In it Salih welcomes U.S. intervention to overthrow Hussein but argues that such use of force will only be deemed a triumph if it helps to create a secular and democratic regime in Iraq. A successful transition to democracy requires the participation of both Iraqi exile organizations and indigenous political groups. The experiences of the Kurds in creating a regional government show that creating a secular democracy is possible in Iraq...