MEANWHILE, BACK IN IRAQ

Surely everyone has heard the rumor that it was the Kurds who captured Saddam Hussein and handed him over to the United States.

When a co-worker mentioned it to me, I made the obvious comment that we would have some proof if the Iraqi Kurds seemed to be favored in some way during the rebuilding of Iraq.

Hmm. The New York Times has reported that “Kurdish Region in Northern Iraq Will Get to Keep Special Status.” Typical for the Times, there’s no mention of the rumor about Hussein, but there’s enough weasel words and back pedaling in this article to suggest that there’s been a payoff here.

Or not. While it’s fun to speculate, our overtures to Kurdish separatism can be explained in other ways. It will also be difficult to know for sure what the story really is; it doesn’t exactly fit our national narrative to have heroic Kurds handing the Butcher of Baghdad over to clueless U.S. soldiers, and nor would the Kurds -- who finally have a chance to get some of the sovereignty they seek -- want that story known. By keeping silent, everyone wins: Our soldiers are heroes, the Kurds get U.S. protection and the Iraqis can move on without feeling belittled by a minority in their midst.