CON:

1. Regional backlash

Rand Corporation, 2016. Regional Implications of an Independent Kurdistan.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1452.html

“Iraq's Perspective
● The secession of the Kurds would pose a direct challenge to Baghdad's
authority. However, Baghdad's ability to prevent the Kurds from
gaining independence may be limited.
● A unilateral declaration of Kurdish independence is likely to provoke
the most hostile response from Baghdad. In contrast, a gradual
estrangement between Erbil and Baghdad that led to a negotiated
separation would enable Baghdad to mitigate the negative
consequences of Kurdish independence and has possible long-term
benefits for both parties.
● If the drive for Kurdish independence were accompanied by the
reemergence of pan-Kurdish nationalism, Baghdad might be able to
coordinate with Ankara and Tehran against Kurdish independence.

Turkey's Perspective
● Once a strong opponent of an independent Kurdistan, Turkey has now
developed close political and economic ties with the Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG).
● From Turkey's vantage point, slow and steady progress toward Kurdish
independence has significant political and economic advantages,
whereas sudden moves toward sovereignty — and especially any
apparent promotion by the KRG greater autonomy for Kurds in Turkey
and Syria — pose political and economic risks.

Iran's Perspective
● The issue of an independent Kurdistan is sensitive for the Islamic
Republic because of fears that it would embolden its own large
population of repressed Kurds.
● Iran may tolerate an independent Kurdistan in northern Iraq if Iran
judges it would not threaten its own stability.
● From the Iranian government's perspective, a gradual and preferably
negotiated Kurdish separation from Iraq would be preferable, as it
would decrease Baghdad's objections to Kurdish independence and
 provide Tehran with the time necessary to mitigate potential unrest at
home.”

Hoover Institution, August 26, 2016.

http://www.hoover.org/research/turkey-and-kurds

“The growth of Kurdish power, however, has alarmed Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The seizure of the town of Manbij, west of the
Euphrates River, by Kurdish and Syrian Democratic forces on August 12
prompted Turkey’s military intervention into northern Syria this week. In the
wake of the incursion, Turkish military officials talked about creating a “terror-
free zone” in northern Syria, by which they meant a zone free of Kurdish
militias as well as Islamic State militants.”

2. Political factions make a stable Kurdistan impossible in the status quo and
the bill does nothing to fix that

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Dec. 16, 2015.

http://carnegieendowment.org/2015/12/16/kurdistan-s-political-armies-
challenge-of-unifying-peshmerga-forces-pub-61917

“Partisan factionalism has proved to be a major stumbling block

to unifying and integrating the peshmerga. No less importantly,
this “partisanization” has hindered the establishment of healthy
and democratic civil-military relations in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Asserting the government’s authority over the peshmerga,
rather than that of the parties’ Political Bureaus, is crucial but
unlikely to be fully achieved so long as the peshmerga groups
continue to function as vehicles for political patronage by the
KDP and the PUK”

PRO:
1. Developmental assistance would better healthcare in Kurdistan

Rand Corporation, 2014. The Future of Health Care in the Kurdistan Region - Iraq
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1148-1.html (you can access full report for more
details if you download it at this link

“The authors suggest that a primary care–oriented health care system could
help the KRG a.ddress many of these challenges. The authors discuss how
such a system might be implemented and financed, and they make
recommendations for better utilizing resources to improve the quality,
access, effectiveness, and efficiency of primary care.”

2. Strength in fighting ISIS

American Enterprise Institute, Oct. 11 2016.

https://www.aei.org/publication/clinton-is-right-on-syrian-kurds/

“The Syrian Kurds have not only been the most successful group
to fight the Islamic State, but they have also governed the territory
under their control with more competence and tolerance than any
other group in Syria.”