The Breakup of Iraq

07-29-2014 • Next News Network

It's been a busy week in the world of foreign policy. One story that would normally be a top global headline might almost slip through the cracks amid stories of Russia posturing with the US, Israel and Hamas at war in Gaza and North Korea threatening nuclear attacks. But recent peculiar moves in Iraq have many people questioning the stability of the overall government. A large oil tanker ship pulled into the coast of Texas this weekend, all the way from Iraq. But after a judge's overnight ruling, Washington DC put in a call to the local authorities and ordered them to seize the ship. The large boat was carrying 1 million barrels of Iraqi Kurdish crude oil. Now, the US State Department is tiptoeing around the boat, worried that if they accept the import, they will upset Baghdad leadership. Baghdad considers Kurdistan to be a part of Iraq and any untaxed imports would constitute smuggling. The Kurds began drilling and exporting oil out of the country into Turkey late last year.