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Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kirkuk29dec29.story
Northern Iraq City Could be Key to U.S. Invasion
(Los Angeles Times)- Kirkuk may be one of the first stops for American troops in order to ensure that Saddam Hussein's forces don't destroy the oil wells. Arabs now dominate Kirkuk, largely because of a deliberate and decades-long campaign by the Iraqi leader to change the makeup of its population. Between 120,000 and 200,000 Kurds, as well as Turkomans and Assyrians, have been expelled from Kirkuk since 1991, according to U.N. officials and a recent Human Rights Watch report. Many are still waiting to reclaim their seized land, homes, and possessions turned over to Arabs during Hussein's rule and to bring Kirkuk back under Kurdish control.