Who is Mulla Mustafa Barzani?

Personality and Leadership Style

To understand Barzani's impact, you have to understand the man himself. He was not a modern, Western-style politician but a product of his time and place: a tribal, religious, and military leader rolled into one.

• Charisma and Aura: Contemporaries and observers almost universally described him as having a powerful, magnetic presence. He was a towering figure, often seen in traditional Kurdish attire with his signature red-and-white turban. He spoke simply but with immense authority and had what many called "piercing eyes." His presence alone commanded respect and loyalty.
• Patriarchal and Authoritarian: His leadership was absolute. The KDP was run not as a modern political party with democratic debate, but as an extension of his personal will. He was the ultimate arbiter of all disputes, political and personal. Loyalty to him was paramount, and dissent was often seen as betrayal. He trusted his family and his tribe implicitly, a trait that laid the groundwork for the dynastic nature of the KDP.
• A Master of Mountain Warfare: Barzani was not a classroom general; he was a guerrilla commander forged in the mountains of Kurdistan. He had an intimate knowledge of the treacherous terrain, which he used to devastating effect against the larger, better-equipped Iraqi armies. His strategy was based on mobility, surprise attacks, and retreating into impenetrable mountain strongholds when necessary. The Peshmerga under his command became legendary for their toughness and resilience.
• Pragmatism over Ideology: While a fervent nationalist, Barzani was not a rigid ideologue. He was anti-communist but sought asylum in the Soviet Union. He was a devout Muslim but worked closely with secularists and even the Christian Assyrians in his region. His one and only guiding principle was the advancement of the Kurdish cause, and he would make an alliance with anyone—the Shah of Iran, the CIA, Israel—if he believed it served that goal.

The Geopolitical Chessboard: Barzani's High-Stakes Alliances

Barzani's entire struggle was played out against the backdrop of the Cold War. The Kurds were a stateless people sitting on a trove of oil and straddling the borders of key strategic states (Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria). This made them a valuable, and ultimately expendable, pawn for superpowers.

• Relationship with the USSR (1947-1958): His 11-year exile in the Soviet Union was a period of frustration and learning. While the Soviets provided him and his men with asylum and some education, they also held him as a "guest" who couldn't leave. Moscow saw him as a potential asset to be used against the Western-backed regimes in Iraq and Iran, but they never fully committed to his cause. He learned a hard lesson about the cynicism of superpower politics.
• Relationship with Iran and the USA (1960s-1975): This was his most significant and most tragic alliance.
• The Motive: The Shah of Iran, backed by the U.S., saw Barzani's rebellion as a perfect tool to destabilize and bleed the rival Ba'athist regime in Iraq, which was then aligned with the Soviet Union.
• The Support: Through the CIA and Israeli Mossad, Iran supplied the Peshmerga with heavy weapons, funding, intelligence, and even artillery support from across the border. This allowed Barzani's forces to move beyond simple guerrilla tactics and fight the Iraqi army to a standstill.
• The Betrayal (The Algiers Agreement, 1975): This is the crucial event. Saddam Hussein, then Vice President of Iraq, made a deal with the Shah. In exchange for Iraq dropping its claim to the Shatt al-Arab waterway, Iran would cease all support for the Kurds immediately. The border was sealed overnight. The flow of arms, ammunition, and food stopped. The rebellion, which had become completely dependent on this aid, collapsed within days.
• The American Role: The U.S. role was exposed in the Pike Committee Report by the U.S. Congress. It revealed that American policy was not to secure a victory for the Kurds, but to keep them fighting just enough to weaken Iraq. When a high-level official, Henry Kissinger, was asked about the moral implications of abandoning the Kurds, he infamously replied, "Covert action should not be confused with missionary work." This betrayal left a deep and lasting scar on the Kurdish psyche.
• Relationship with Israel: Israel, following its "periphery doctrine" (allying with non-Arab states and minorities to counter powerful Arab enemies), was a consistent, if covert, supporter. Mossad agents provided crucial military training and expertise to the Peshmerga. For Barzani, it was a pragmatic alliance with a capable partner who shared a common enemy in the pan-Arabist regimes.

Internal Kurdish Politics: The Great Rivalry

Barzani's leadership was not uncontested. His main rival was Jalal Talabani, an intellectual, a lawyer, and a master diplomat who represented a different vision for the Kurdish movement.

• The Split: The rivalry between the traditional, tribal-based leadership of Barzani and the more leftist, intellectual, urban-based faction led by Talabani caused a major split in the KDP in the mid-1960s. Talabani and his followers would eventually form the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in 1975.
• Clashing Visions:
• Barzani's KDP: Rooted in the traditional social structure of Kurdistan, emphasizing loyalty, family ties, and a strong, centralized leadership. Its power base was in the northern parts of Iraqi Kurdistan.
• Talabani's PUK: More ideologically driven, attracting leftist intellectuals, students, and city-dwellers. It presented itself as a more modern, progressive alternative to Barzani's "feudal" leadership. Its power base was in the south, around the city of Sulaymaniyah.
• Legacy of Division: This split created the fundamental political fault line in Iraqi Kurdistan that persists to this day, with the region effectively divided into a KDP-controlled "Yellow Zone" and a PUK-controlled "Green Zone."

The Deeper Legacy: Symbol and Controversy

Mulla Mustafa Barzani's legacy is immense and multifaceted.

• National Consciousness: More than any other figure, he forged a modern, unified Kurdish national identity out of a collection of disparate tribes. He made "Kurdayeti" (the state of being Kurdish) the central political idea.
• The Foundation of the KRG: The de facto state he built in the mountains during the 1960s—with its own administration, taxes, and army—was the direct precursor to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) that exists today. The 1970 Autonomy Agreement, though it failed, was the first time an Iraqi government officially recognized Kurdish national rights, a landmark achievement.
• Symbol of Perseverance: His life story—of rebellion, exile, betrayal, and relentless struggle—is a powerful symbol of Kurdish resilience.
• The Controversial (The Critique):
• Dynastic Rule: Critics argue that he institutionalized a form of dynastic rule, treating the KDP as a family inheritance. This legacy continues with his son, Masoud Barzani, and his grandson, Nechirvan Barzani, holding the top positions of power.
• Intolerance of Dissent: His authoritarian style stifled internal debate and led to violent intra-Kurdish conflict, setting a precedent for the bloody civil war between the KDP and PUK in the 1990s.
• Over-reliance on Foreign Powers: His strategy of depending on self-interested foreign patrons, while necessary for survival, ultimately led to the catastrophic collapse of 1975. This has led to a long-running debate among Kurds about the wisdom of trusting external powers.

In conclusion, Mulla Mustafa Barzani was a figure of epic proportions, a man who almost single-handedly carried the hopes of his nation for half a century. He was both a product of his time and a force that shaped the future, a leader whose towering achievements and profound flaws continue to define Kurdish politics today.