In politics, Machiavelli is known to be the father of political opportunism and its outspoken philosopher, coining famous phrases such as "The end justifies the means." In Iraqi and Kurdish politics, Jalal Talabani is the embodiment of political opportunism, moving each day from one political camp and ideology to another in order to acquire power, prestige and wealth. Within his political career that spans nearly six decades, Talabani changed sides and political orientation from Marxism, to being an agent of the Iraqi government, the Syrian intelligence, the Iranian mullas and lastly the CIA.

After graduating from law school in the early 1950s, Talabani began his political career by joining the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) under the leadership of Mulla Mustafa Barzani and Ibrahim Ahmad. Talabani married Ahmad's daughter in 1952 to push his career forward. With the help of his new father in-law, he secured a position at the party's hierarchy in 1953 at age 25 and adopted Marxist ideology to please his father-in-law.

He then devoted his attention to marginalizing Barzani, splitting from the party and creating a new faction under his own leadership. This ended with Talabani and his handful of followers seeking refuge in Iran in 1966 under the protection of the former shah. A few months later, he returned to Iraq and offered his services to the Iraqi government, which was engaged in fighting Barzani's forces. The Iraqi government provided Talabani and his followers with arms, money, daily newspapers, communication equipment, buildings, and transportation vehicles. In exchange, Talabani was required to guide the Iraqi troops in their military campaign in the rugged mountains of Kurdistan in order to defeat Barzani's forces. This treachery won Talabani the title of the "jash" ("jackass" in Kurdish) by the average Kurds.

The internal fight within the Kurds continued until 1970, when the Baath government reached an agreement with Barzani's faction, promising autonomy for the Kurds within four years. Barzani emerged as the legitimate leader of the Kurds. Talabani dissolved his militia and political faction and joined Barzani's group.

In 1975, Barzani's movement collapsed after unsuccessful fighting with the Iraqi government. Barzani sought refuge in Iran, and later in the United State where he died in 1978. His son, Idris, resumed the militia fight against Iraq, but on a smaller scale. Once he was killed in an air raid conducted by the Iraqi Air Force, his younger brother, Masood, replaced him as a party leader. He continues to do so.

As for Talabani, once Barzani's movement collapsed in 1975, he seized the opportunity to once again inject himself into the political arena. Talabani sought refuge in Syria, where he created the Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK), under the protection and support of Syrian intelligence.

To solve their long hostilities, the KDP restricted its activities to the Bahdenan area of upper Kurdistan, and the PUK restricted its activities to the Soranie area of lower Kurdistan. This division and segmentation continues to date.

After the Gulf War of 1991, the KDP and PUK seized Saddam's defeat in Kuwait to lead the Kurds in an uprising against the Iraqi government. However, their sense of jubilation was short-lived as Saddam responded with a massive military offensive that crushed the uprising within days.

These offensives created an exodus by the Kurds to the nearby Turkish mountains. This created a humanitarian crisis that involved nearly one million woman, children and elderly. This forced the United States and its allies to create a safe haven in northern Iraq in order for the Kurdish refugees to return home. Under U.S. protection, the KDP and PUK administered the Kurdish area. As a consequence, Masood Barzani became in charge of the upper portion of Kurdistan and established his government, headquartered in Irbil. Talabanie became in charge of the lower portion of Kurdistan and established his government, headquartered in Sulaymaniyah.

The two factions, however, continued to clash over territory and profit generated from the smuggling of Iraqi oil through Turkey. As of 1997, the historic conflict between the two Kurdish factions entered an era of tolerance due to mediation by Clinton's State Department. This state of tolerance continues to date despite hidden and deep hostilities and animosities between the two factions.

As of 2003, the Kurdish factions used the occupation of Iraq and the weak Iraqi central government to their own advantage. They are, for example, dictating the form of government Iraq should have, demanding federalism, and refusing to dismantle their peshmargas and incorporating them into the new Iraqi Army. They are also insisting on including the oil-rich area of Kirkuk in their autonomous state-within-a-state area in order to prepare for complete independence in the future.

After the March election for National Assembly, the two Kurdish factions put aside their historic differences in order to manipulate the emerging situation. The result was some 70 seats for these two factions in the new Iraqi parliament, capable of dictating the two factions' political mandate on any future Iraqi government.

During the current episode of forming a new Iraqi government, Masood stayed in Kurdistan and let his old arch nemesis, Talabani, go to Baghdad and gain a prominent position in the new Iraqi government.

After so many years of conflict, Masood came to know Talabani and his drive for personal power. By pushing Talabani out of the way, Masood can now have all of Kurdistan to himself.

Alexander Dawoody, Ph.D., teaches Middle Eastern history at Western Michigan University. He can be reached at alxdawoody@cs.com.

Originally published April 17, 2005