the Iraqi army has been infiltrated by Ba’athists and isn’t allowed anywhere inside the [Kurdish] autonomous zone. ... I learned that when Omar and Mohammad Fadhil, the bloggers behind Iraq the Model, drove up to Kurdistan from Baghdad to meet me at my hotel. They never made it. The Peshmerga told them Arabs were not allowed to enter the region without a Kurdish escort [Perhaps they didn't bribe the right people]..., the Kurdistan Regional Government actually provides money and housing for Arab Christians who want to pick up and resettle in the north...Arab Muslims aren’t barred from the region. They can visit as tourists, and they can buy new homes there. But they must have connections if they want to settle in Kurdistan, and they must prove they aren’t a security threat before they can even show up.

The influx of Arabs has made many Kurds nervous, and regional leaders are debating whether to corral the Arabs into separate housing estates or camps....Arabs moving to Kurdistan are required to register with security agencies, which track how many arrive and where they live. The chief security officer for Sulaimaniya, the largest city in eastern Kurdistan, said about 1,000 Arab families had moved into this area, and that thousands more families had settled in other parts of the Kurdish north...“We know the parents of families who come here are Baathists, but they’re allowed to live in Sulaimaniya if they have a Kurdish sponsor,”[a principal at an Arabic primary school was quoted]