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Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (2nd L) talks to an unidentified political leader during a meeting with Iraqi political leaders to discuss the Iraqi-US security pact at the Iraqi president office in Baghdad November 23, 2008. Reuters

The Arab elite see those demands of the Kurds as separatist and rebellion. In short, Kurds were the makers of change in Iraq, but they couldn't find a large front of change around themselves that can accept part of those demands. As a result they have faced big disasters.

With the collapse of Saddam Hussein's Baathist Regime and the arrival of U.S. forces, the centralist, extremist, and nationalist Arab elite lost power for a short period of time. A hope came into being for the Kurds that since there is no opportunity for division yet, it is possible to reestablish the Iraqi State on two main bases so as to be able to both keep the Iraqi State as wanted by the centralists and manage the existing multiethnic and religious composition, and their existence and identities be recognized and live together, something that has been demanded by the Kurds since long ago. And these two principles are federalism and democracy. However, the destination of these two principles, on which the governing system is designed through the Constitution, is not clear. This is due to the fact that the State was unitary and authoritarian before. And among the Arab groups in power the conflict is not about the shape of the federalism and power-sharing in Iraq, whether to be like the U.S. and Russian federalism, where the balance of power is a bit toward the central government, or like that of the United Arabic Emirates, which is more like a confederation where the balance of power is rather toward the emirates. The second issue regarding democracy is still undetermined whether its style will be according to the principle of majority like that of Turkey, the U.S., France, and Germany, or according to the accordance principle like that of Belgium, Switzerland, and Nigeria.

A large part of the governing elite, according to their ideological and political backgrounds, don't believe in federalism at all or in democracy. And now, when they have accepted those concepts under threats and pressure of the events and balances of power, they are trying to undermine those two concepts and move toward stronger centralization opposite of the needs and interests of Kurdistan and other provinces, and applying the basis of majority instead of accordance and power-sharing.

The source of that is the very idea of power hunger and centralism that were brought to Iraq by the English in the 1920s, and which was developed by the pan-Arabism movement that was developed in 80 years. This has only brought about disaster.