J. Watt

While many Americans are turned off by the prospect of an establishment candidate from a legacy family taking the office of Commander-in-chief in 2017, few would disagree that both Republican Jeb Bush and Democrat Hillary Clinton are poised to, at the very least, put up a good fight to get their name on the ballot.


While many Americans are turned off by the prospect of an establishment candidate from a legacy family taking the office of Commander-in-chief in 2017, few would disagree that both Republican Jeb Bush and Democrat Hillary Clinton are poised to, at the very least, put up a good fight to get their name on the ballot.

Both the Bush and Clinton families have significant history in the region that would, no doubt, influence their future relationship with the Kurds.

As Obama put in a request for congregational authorization for military force against ISIS for the next three years, whoever becomes the next president will likely inherit a conflict demanding even more interaction in the region.

While both political dynasties have a history in Iraq, many would argue that George H. W. Bush, Jeb Bush?s father, had more impact on the history of Kurds in Iraq than any other president.


Bush was the spark that ignited the 1991 uprisings against Saddam across the country as well as the instigator of protection for the Kurds in the form of Operation Provide Comfort, the de facto recognition of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), and the no-fly zone over the Kurdish region.

Yet many would point out that Bill Clinton, the husband of presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, expanded the no-fly zone and the semi-autonomous region developed even further under his administration.

But it was George W. Bush, Jeb?s older brother, who finally ousted Saddam Hussein when US forces partnered closely with the Kurdish Peshmerga to battle Ansar al Islam and during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, using the KRG as a launch pad to move into other parts of Iraq.

The sovereignty and prosperity of the Kurds has grown significantly during the time of these three presidents; yet many Kurds are jaded with the current administration?s slowness to arm the Kurds directly, which begs the question of what the Kurds should expect in January 2017 when another Clinton or another Bush could take the White House.

While Jeb Bush is yet to give significant public statements on Kurdish issues, many Kurds link the Bush name to their protection from Saddam in the 1990?s and the destruction of Saddam?s regime in the 2000?s. Kurds can only hope that a future Bush president would continue the trend.

On the flip side, however, many would point out the rhetoric of both Clintons who, though they haven?t held presidential office in 15 years, have maintained a presence in US politics and, all the while, kept the Kurds on their radar.

?Secretary Clinton was very, very clear that she thinks there should be more engagement, more support from the West, from the UK, in backing the Kurds, backing the Peshmerga against ISIS,? said London Mayor Boris Johnson to the Press Association, after a mid-February meeting with Hillary Clinton.


Clinton, though currently not holding public office, likely developed her strong regional convictions through her recent term as Secretary of State and two terms as First Lady.

Only time can determine which candidate would more so support a pro-Kurdish agenda in the region, but as the conflict with ISIS is at the forefront of the minds of many American voters, we can only expect that as Bush and Clinton make their bids for the White House, their opinions?developed greatly through their families? history in the region ?will come to the forefront.

Kurdish Globe