The Kurds have long been an ally to the US in Iraq. They aided the US military in finding Saddam, and in 2004 aided the US in finding an aid to Osama Bin Laden, which later supposedly led to finding Bin Laden himself.

The fighting force of the Kurds is a militia force called Peshmerga. The Kurdish Peshmerga are fighting ISIS on the front lines.

US airstrikes have been sent into the region to aid the Kurds, and we are directly arming the Peshmerga.

U.S. airstrikes help Kurdish troops fight off ISIS

Yet, the US won’t allow the Kurds to sell their oil in Texas. Back in July, the Kurds sent a tanker with $100,000,000 worth of oil to the US to try to trade.

Landing in the US would be a feat for Iraqi Kurdistan, which is trying to establish its own oil trade and is in dire need of revenue since Baghdad cut the region’s funding in January.

http://rudaw.net/english/business/26072014

What was the US response?

The two known U.S. buyers of Kurdish crude oil have now rejected delivery of cargoes from tankers near New Jersey and Texas, saying they will not make further purchases until it is determined who has the right to sell the oil: the central government of Iraq or the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/12/us-kurdistan-oil-usa-idUSKBN0GC22C20140812

Now, the Kurdish Oil tanker off of the Texas coast has gone dark.

Headed for Galveston, the United Kalavyrvta was anchored at least 60 miles off-shore when it vanished from radar screens. The ship’s haul fell under legal dispute when Iraq filed a lawsuit in U.S. courts, urging American officials to grab the ship’s oil in Galveston because it belongs to Iraq, not the Kurdish National Government.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/08/31/newser-oil-tanker-vanishes-coast-guard-texas/14898541/

Interesting to note, 60 miles off the coast, is international waters, so the US courts dismissed the Iraqi lawsuit on that basis. Did they shut down the transponder to move the ship closer under darkness to sell the oil, or did they dissappear on behalf of the Iraqi govt? Hopefully, we don’t get another BP oil spill.