Kurdistan (An Independent in 2000)

Created out of the Partitian of Iraq in 2004 and the cession from Turkey in 2005 the Republic of Kurdistan is one of the three bastions of socio-economic progress in the Middle East.

Politics
Kurdistan is often said to be an odd couple marrige of political parties, allon with the fairly libertarian Free Kurdish Party, is the second larges party in the country which was born out of the Turkish half of the country, the down right communist Kurdish Workers Party. Currently only the most moderate members of the KWP have been able to gain access to the Kurdish Parliment, while the FKP holds a resounding majority.

Economy
Kurdistan has the largest economy of the "Three Iraqs" and the fourth largest economy in the Middle East after Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Kurdistan was home to 85% of Iraq's oil reserves and is one of the region's largest suppliers. Currently Kurdistan is using their oil revenues to continue to develop their country, and follow the Dubai model for economic growth in the Middle East, in that they use their oil reveneus to facilitate the growth of a larger commercial industry.

International Relations
Kurdistan was one of the founding members of CATB, and holds very strong ties to the United States and Europe.