Iranian Insurgent/Terror Group

[Jedburgh]

Ghareeb's book isn't bad, but its getting pretty dated.

A Modern History of the Kurds by David McDowall is the best general history of the Kurds and Kurdish issues in print. It will provide you with a good basic understanding of the differences in the "Kurdish Question" in each country where they form a significant minority.

Michael Gunter has published a great deal - most of it useful - on the Kurds of Turkey in general and the PKK in particular. If you're looking at the PKK, you have to give him a read.

Agha, Sheikh and State by Martin van Bruinessen is the best study you will find of traditional Kurdish culture. Although it is focused on the Kurds of Iraq, much of it holds true for all Kurds (with the expected degrees of variance).

Most of the current publishing on the Kurdish issue is either travelogues with a bit of history padding out the tale, or reporting that is more partisan and biased (from any of a variety of perspectives) than not.

Reviewing archives of Jane's Intelligence Review will provide you with a lot on the PKK, but not much on the MEK. In searching specialty pubs for useful information on the Kurds, you tend to find a huge amount of relevant info on the Iraqi Kurds, a bit less on the Kurds of Turkey, and very little of substance on the Kurds of Iran.

[davidbfpo]

Not the original request, but IISS (London) published in May 2005 an Adelphi Paper 'Turkey's Policy Towards Northern Iraq: Problems and Perspectives' by Bill Park (a British defence academic). It is fascinating on the Kurds. Available via their website www.iiss.org

Davidbfpo