Iraq’s Kurds need to put democracy before independence

The Washington Post Editorial Board writes:

THE LEADERS of Iraq’s Kurdistan region are suffering considerable consequences for their reckless staging of a referendum on independence late last month. The Iraqi government has teamed up with Turkey and Iran to impose tough sanctions, including a ban on international flights from Kurdish airports. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once a Kurdistan ally, is threatening to shut down an oil pipeline that provides the economically struggling region with much of its revenue. Meanwhile, the United States, long the Kurds’ most important ally, has called the referendum illegitimate and done little to stanch the growing backlash.