Experts predict that if civil war erupts in Iraq, the spark may come from Kirkuk. Oil-rich and under de facto Kurdish control, the city has emerged as one of Iraq’s most hotly contested flashpoints.

Advocating for greater Kurdish autonomy through violent resistance, the Kurdistan Workers Party remains a vibrant militant presence on the border of northern Iraq and southern Turkey.

Iran is a predominantly Shiite Muslim state but contains sizeable ethnic and religious minorities that influence Iran’s foreign and regional policy.

This publication is now archived. How strained are U.S.-Turkey relations?They are very strained. The Bush administration was stunned by the Turkish Parliament’s March 1 decision to deny the United St…