Meet the Kurds

The Kurds are an ethnic group living in parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. There are upwards of 25 million Kurds. In fact, they may be the largest ethnic group in the world that does not have a country. And therein lies the "Kurdish problem."

For centuries, the Kurds were a nomadic people, tending their flocks of sheep and goats. Yet this way of life literally ran into a wall, when World War I's victors carved the sprawling Ottoman Empire into smaller states. The new countries took a dim view of shepherds wandering to and fro across their borders, so most Kurds were forced to leave their nomadic existence behind. Some took up agriculture, while others moved to the city. But for many, the real solution was obvious: Kurds needed a country all their own.

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