An Interesting Twist In Kurdistan

Here is another piece on Kurdistan that makes me feel like I have special powers to predict stuff: Private Security Firms on the Rise in Kurdistan. Apparently these were illegal due to some Iraqi law, but:

Finally in 2007, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) granted Khoshnaw the right to launch his first company, which in the beginning only provided US troops in Iraq with basic logistics.

The interesting twist?

“One key condition is that you have to be a Kurd and live in the Kurdistan Region. No other nationalities other than Kurds are hired, because in many cases the security personnel will have the right to bear arms. The applicant should not have a criminal record and must have the recommendations of the KRG’s security agency (Asayish).”

Suddenly I am more hopeful that the needs of the Kurdish people might actually be met. If the MercCorps providing security to the multinationals are owned and operated by Kurds, then they will be a little more responsive to the needs of their own people than, say American or Israeli MercCorps.