By: Dr. Adnan Bouzan
The call for the declaration of Kurdistan’s independence, and the reliance on the mountains as the Kurds’ eternal fortress, is not merely an emotional slogan or a revolutionary phrase, but rather a condensed expression of a long historical experience shaped by geography, tragedies, and international betrayal. The mountains have always been the final refuge; they preserved the Kurdish people’s identity when armies collapsed, alliances dissolved, and promises faded away. The Kurds have learned that they have no true friend but their mountains—not in the sense of absolute isolation, but in the sense that every external power acts according to its own interests and aligns only to the extent that it serves its strategic calculations.
From this perspective, liberating oneself from occupation—whatever its form or color—cannot be built on blind faith in the promises of great powers, whether the United States or others. The political history of the Middle East proves that Washington has never been a force of liberation, but rather a force of crisis management and balance of interests, seeking tools to advance its strategies, not equal partners in rights. Thus, full reliance on it is an illusion, and blind hostility to it is self-destruction. What is required is precise balance: avoiding unnecessary opposition when it is futile, and refraining from dependency when it offers limited and conditional support.
The independence of Kurdistan—or of any oppressed people—is not a romantic dream, but a political project founded on two essential pillars:
Self-capacity: Building strong institutions, a resilient economy, and a disciplined army capable of defending the land. For freedom without military and economic strength becomes nothing more than ink on paper.
The ability to read the historical moment: Revolutions and independence movements do not succeed through willpower alone, but through the ability to seize opportunities when the walls of the regional and international order begin to crack.
Here lies the wisdom: independence must not be declared in a vacuum, but in a moment when the traditional balance of power collapses, old empires fracture, and a breach opens in the iron wall surrounding the people.
Yet this principle is not exclusive to the Kurds. All peoples suffering under oppression—whether in the Middle East or beyond—are called upon to think with the same mentality. Interests are not built upon emotions or illusions of an “external savior,” but upon a realistic assessment of circumstances, capacities, and opportunities. Oppression is not an eternal fate, but it does not vanish through prayer or waiting; it vanishes through organized political action grounded in balance of power.
The danger facing Kurdish political thought—or any liberatory thought—lies in believing Western promises more than in believing the reality on the ground. Americans, like Russians, Turks, and Iranians, all operate by investing in weaknesses, not by defending human rights. Therefore, the independence of peoples is not drafted in the offices of the White House or the Kremlin, but is forged in their mountains, cities, and refugee camps—when tragedy is transformed into strength, despair into determination, and identity into the project of a state.
In the end, independence is not a gift to be granted, but a struggle to be seized.
And while the mountains alone may not be enough, they will forever remain the eternal witness that the peoples who seek refuge in them may break many times, but they never surrender.