Secretary Gates spent his final hours in Iraqi Kurdistan, meeting with the President of the semi-autonomous region, Massoud Barzani.

VOA: standard.2009.07.29

Last Wednesday, for example, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan region hosted Kansas Senator Sam Brownback in the morning at his headquarters outside Irbil.

NPR: Kurdistan Caught in Middle of Iran-U.S. Tensions

Kurds and Iraqis have long fought over Iraq's northern region, known as Iraqi Kurdistan.

CNN: 'Arab Idol's' first contestant from Gaza grabs spotlight

In the past few days, Iraqi politicians have held a series of meetings in Baghdad and the Kurdistan region to try to prevent the unraveling of the political system.

WSJ: Iraq Crisis Grows With New Threat