Figure 6.21 Kurdistan. This mountainous homeland of the Kurds now lies divided among several countries. The Kurds, numbering 25 million, have lived in this region for millennia. Many seek independence and have waged guerrilla war against Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, but, so far, independence has eluded them. What might cause so large and populous a nation to fail to achieve independence? (Source: Office of the Geographer, U.S. Department of State.)