American University: Iraq Expert Is Available To Comment

8/2/2002

From: AU Media Relations, 202-885-5950

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 -- Carole O'Leary, scholar-in-residence at American University's Center for Global Peace, can comment on Iraq. She just returned from a three-week research assignment to Iraqi Kurdistan (the Kurdish safe haven), analyzing regional views of a post-Saddam government and regime change.

"I focused my research on interviewing people from the smaller ethnic and religious communities -- Assyrian and Chaldean Christians and Turkomen -- as well as interviewing Kurds, who make up the majority in the region," said O'Leary. "I find it significant that the smaller, non-Kurdish communities strongly support federalism and regional governance for Iraqi Kurdistan as the best solution for post-Saddam Iraq."

"In fact, my research suggests that groups that do not support federalism and the Kurdistan Regional Government, such as some Assyrian and Turkomen groups in the U.S. and Europe, are funded and supported by outside interests, namely Saddam's regime and the government of Turkey," O'Leary said.

"It is also true that the major Iraqi opposition groups support federalism, as they stated on the record at our conference at American University," O'Leary said. O'Leary hosted the conference "Iraq's Kurds: A Key to Stability in Iraq" at American University on June 8, which brought together Iraqi opposition leaders.

Located in Washington, D.C., American University is a leader in global education, enrolling a diverse student body from throughout the U.S. and more than 160 countries and providing opportunities for academic excellence, public service, and internships in the nation's capital and around the world.

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