Turkey is no more willing than it was in 1991 to open its borders to Iraqi Kurdish refugees. But there is no longer an alternative for their safety inside Iraq. The infighting among the Kurds of northern Iraq, precipitated in no small part by their sense that the safe haven could not be maintained indefinitely, has allowed Iraqi government forces to penetrate the zone and contaminate its security. We do know that the US has evacuated its own employees and political oppositionists whom it had funded. The total number of evacuees, at this writing, is less than 3,000.
Many more people are vulnerable.
Foremost are local Kurds who were hired by private humanitarian organizations. These are the people who dug the wells, distributed the medicines, and delivered the food for Operation Provide Comfort. On Oct. 13, a local driver for Concern for Kids, an Atlanta-based charity, was dragged from a vehicle, beaten, stabbed, doused with gasoline, and torched. Local authorities arrested the victim and threw him in jail, where he now remains. This is not an isolated incident.