00:00As Iraq moves toward its November 11th parliamentary election, one name continues to loom large
00:07despite being absent from the ballot – Masood Barzani.
00:13The aging Kurdish leader who once fought Saddam Hussein's forces from the rugged mountains
00:18of northern Iraq remains a defining force in Kurdish politics even without holding formal
00:24office. His party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP, is rallying voters to secure
00:31a strong Kurdish showing, not merely for seats in parliament but for leverage in an increasingly
00:37tense relationship with Baghdad. The stakes are high – control over oil revenues, budget
00:43allocations and the very autonomy of Iraqi Kurdistan.
00:46Masood Barzani's story is intertwined with the modern history of Kurdish struggle. Born
00:52in 1946, he inherited the legacy of his father, Mullah Mustafa Barzani, the legendary Lion of
00:59Kurdistan, who founded the KDP and led several revolts against Baghdad. Masood grew up surrounded
01:05by the sounds of conflict in a teenage guerrilla before he was even old enough to vote. His
01:11political instincts forged in the mountains would later allow him to navigate decades of
01:17rebellion, betrayal, and shifting alliances. Even now, at nearly 80, he is still referred
01:24to as President in Kurdish media, a testament to his enduring influence.
01:30Barzani's early rise came during one of Iraq's most turbulent eras. After the 1991 Gulf War,
01:37Kurdish fighters, the Peshmerga, took advantage of the chaos to rise up against Saddam Hussein.
01:43Barzani's forces captured several northern cities, but victory was short-lived. The US-led coalition,
01:50unwilling to see Iraq fragment, allowed Saddam to strike back.
01:56Facing annihilation, Barzani was forced into negotiations with the same dictator who had
02:01once gassed the Kurds and filled mass graves with their dead. The establishment of a US and
02:06British no-fly zone over northern Iraq later granted the Kurds de facto autonomy, setting
02:13the stage for what would become the longest period of Kurdish self-rule in modern history. Yet
02:19even that success was marred by internecine war, as Barzani's KDP clashed violently with Jalal
02:26Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUKE. The rivalry reached its peak in 1996 when Barzani
02:35invited Iraqi government tanks into Erbil to oust Talabani's forces, a move that stunned Washington
02:42and forced CIA officers stationed in the region to flee. But Barzani's pragmatism, often criticized as
02:51opportunism, kept him politically alive. When Saddam fell in the 2003 US-led invasion, Barzani
03:00re-emerged as a key broker in the formation of Iraq's new federal structure. The Kurdistan
03:07region flourished under his leadership, remaining comparatively peaceful even as sectarian violence
03:14engulfed Baghdad. Western investors poured into Erbil, transforming it into a hub for oil and
03:22construction. For many Kurds, Barzani became the symbol of stability, the man who had finally
03:29given their people a semi-autonomous homeland. But the triumph would not last. In 2017, emboldened
03:37by Kurdish contributions to the fight against the Islamic State, where Peshmerga forces had fought
03:44alongside Iraqi and Iranian-backed troops to liberate Mosul, Barzani took a gamble that would
03:51nearly undo everything he had built. He called a referendum on Kurdish independence, confident
03:58that global sympathy for the Kurds' sacrifices would translate into support. 90% of voters
04:05said yes. Yet, the Baghdad government declared the vote illegal and swiftly sent forces to reclaim
04:12Kirkuk, the oil-rich city Kurds had long claimed as their heartland. Within days, Kurdish troops
04:20withdrew and Barzani was left politically isolated. The referendum, meant to crown his legacy, instead
04:27forced him to step down as president of the Kurdistan regional government. In a televised
04:32address after the debacle, Barzani vowed that he would always remain a Peshmerga, a soldier
04:38for his people. But the sense of betrayal ran deep. Kurds remembered how Western powers had
04:44urged caution, only to watch silently as Baghdad reasserted control. It was a reminder of a recurring
04:51theme in Kurdish history, the sense of abandonment by allies. Masood's father, Mullah Mustafa, had
04:58suffered the same fate in 1975 when U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger brokered a deal between
05:06Iraq and Iran cutting off aid to Kurdish rebels. Mullah Mustafa, exiled and dying of cancer in America,
05:13lamented that trusting Washington had been his greatest mistake. His son, four decades later, relived
05:20that same disappointment on a global stage. The scars of that betrayal, however, did not end
05:26Barzani's political relevance. Though no longer president, he continued to pull the strings
05:32behind the scenes through the KDP, which remains the most powerful Kurdish party. In the 2021
05:41election, the KDP secured a dominant share of the Kurdish vote, partly through an alliance
05:47with influential Shiite cleric Moqtad al-Sadr. Now, as Iraq heads toward its 2025 election, Barzani
05:55is once again at the center of Kurdish politics. His party is urging Kurds to turn out in large numbers,
06:01to strengthen their hand in negotiations with Baghdad over oil revenue and budget shares,
06:08issues that have long defined the relationship between the two capitals. A strong KDP performance
06:16could give Barzani the leverage to resist Baghdad's attempts to centralize control over Kurdish oil
06:22exports. The tensions between Erbil and Baghdad have escalated sharply in recent years.
06:27In 2022, Iraq's federal court declared the Kurdish regional oil and gas law unconstitutional,
06:35ordering Erbil to hand over control of its energy exports. Barzani denounced the decision as a political
06:43move designed to weaken Kurdish autonomy. Since then, disputes over payments, production contracts,
06:49and international oil sales have become recurring flashpoints. With oil revenues forming the
06:56backbone of the Kurdish economy, any reduction in financial transfers from Baghdad threatens the
07:02region's stability. For Barzani, this election is not just about seats. It is about ensuring that
07:08Kurdistan retains its economic independence in the face of renewed centralization. Despite his age,
07:14Barzani remains an active figure in Kurdish politics and diplomacy. He continues to meet with foreign
07:21envoys and maintain influence over regional decision-making. Supporters see him as the
07:27embodiment of Kurdish endurance, a man who survived Saddam's massacres, Western indifference, and internal
07:35rivalries. Critics, however, argue that his dominance has stifled younger political voices and deepened
07:42divisions within the Kurdish movement. The rivalry between his KDP and the PUK remains unresolved,
07:49occasionally erupting into disputes over revenue sharing and administrative control.
07:55For many Kurds, unity remains an elusive dream, even as they face growing pressure from Baghdad and
08:02regional powers like Iran and Turkey. As the 11th of November election nears, Barzani's influence once
08:08again hovers over Iraq's fractured political landscape. For Baghdad, the challenge lies in
08:15balancing Kurdish demands without appearing to compromise national sovereignty. For Barzani, the
08:21task is to prove that despite past setbacks, the KDP can still deliver tangible gains for Kurdish
08:28self-rule. Whether he succeeds or not will shape the future of Kurdish politics and perhaps determine whether
08:37Iraq can maintain its fragile equilibrium between autonomy and unity. Masoud Barzani's long career, from
08:45mountain fighter to political power broker, stands as both a symbol of Kurdish resilience and a reminder of how the
08:51struggle for self-determination in Iraq is far from over.
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