Iraqi Kurds Closer to Petro State of Their Own

A force of a few thousand jihadist fighters stunned the world with their June 9 capture of Mosul, the biggest city in Iraq after Baghdad. Flush with looted cash, helicopters, and Humvees, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) soon turned to another target: the oil-rich city of Kirkuk about 100 miles away. As in Mosul, Iraqi government forces stationed in and around the city deserted en masse as the first militants approached. This time, though, the jihadists were sent into retreat as well, repelled by thousands of Peshmerga, or Kurdish troops, who streamed into the area on the heels of the fleeing Iraqi forces. The Kurds of Iraq have always disputed control of multi-ethnic Kirkuk by rulers based in Baghdad. On June 12 they finally took the city and surrounding province for themselves—taking an enormous step toward independence and the long-foretold breakup of Iraq.