Interview: Governor of Kirkuk province

UPI

By Ben Lando

September 12, 2007

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates , Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Iraq 's future rests on the future of Kirkuk . The province holds at least 13 percent of Iraq 's oil reserves, but like the rest of the country, its infrastructure needs massive investment.

Article 140 of the 2005 constitution calls for a referendum in which voters in Kirkuk and others of the disputed territories in the north will decide whether to join Iraqi Kurdistan. The vote itself is controversial, and many experts attribute an increase in violence in Kirkuk to the debate over its future. Full Text