Iraq is once again in a period of transition. As Iraqi forces take on more security functions and U.S. forces begin preparations for eventual withdrawal, attention is turning to a vexing issue that long predates the 2003 overthrow of the former regime. The Kurdish question has dogged Iraq and its neighbors since they were created at the end of the First World War. Ninety years later, the issue threatens the tenuous stability won at such great cost to Iraqis, Americans and their coalition partners.