U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdish capital, today to make his case for national unity to the ethnic minority that may hold the only winning hand in the country’s sectarian turmoil. Kerry will meet with Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and other Kurdish leaders, bringing the same plea for cooperation he delivered yesterday to Shiite and Sunni politicians in Baghdad. In advance of Kerry’s arrival from Amman, Jordan, Barzani signaled yesterday that the “time is here” for the Kurds, a minority of 6.5 million, to decide on independence instead of what’s now a semi-autonomous state within Iraq . As fighting rages between extremists and Iraqi forces, the Kurds are in a position to be deal makers in political talks for a new government. “During the last 10 years, we did everything in our ability, we made every effort and show […]