Kurdish question in the US strategy in Iraq: origins and new moments

The paper analyzes changes in the US strategy toward Iraqi Kurdistan and the Kurdish question in Iraq as such after the September 2017 Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum. To this end, the author briefly recalls the stages of the formation of Washington’s strategy on the Kurdish question in Iraq, describes the main elements of this strategy. After the 2017 referendum, the United States did not curtail its relations with Erbil, but, on the contrary, intensified contacts at the highest and high levels. At the same time, Washington rejected the autonomy’s claim to independence, thereby outlining the limits of rapprochement. It is concluded that the United States gradually shifted from pragmatic support for irredentism in Iraq in the 1960-80s. to more complex “selective” cooperation with a quasi-state actor in the 2010s.