American Zionists (through the mainstream media) are responsible for the humiliation of reactionary and opportunist tribal leader, Masoud Barazani. When people like Thomas Friedman and others were heaping praise on his corrupt and oppressive mini-republic, Barazani thought just like his father that US and Israel would be sufficient to count on for the achievement of secession. My favorite articles about the corrupt and repressive region is when people point to the establishment by neocons of the American University in Sulamaniyyah as an example of the enlightenment and democracy of the region.