Emily Schneider

President Obama never mentioned the Khorasan group when he laid out his strategy for destroying the Islamic State on Sept. 10. Nor did he mention Jabhat al Nusra, Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate.

Just one month ago, the Chief of Staff to Kurdish President Barzazi and the Kurdish Defense Minister travelled to Washington, D.C., and policy makers wondered if, finally, the time was ripe for an independent state. The Iraqi province of Kurdistan was held up as what Iraq could be: a secure area with a booming economy and a what was thought to be a well trained army.