Q&A: Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim

Q&A: Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim (center) visits Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Daquq, 45 kilometers south of Kirkuk city, on June 25, 2014. (MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images) By Ben Van Heuvelen of Iraq Oil Report Published Monday, September 8th, 2014 The disputed province of Kirkuk sits at the intersection of Iraq's most divisive and persistent conflicts - over oil, territory, ethnic and sectarian rivalries, and the future shape of Iraq.Tensions have risen to new heights since early June, when the so-called Islamic State (formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS) seized control of much of northern Iraq, including parts of Kirkuk.As the Iraqi Army fled, Kurdish Peshmerga forces filled the vacuum and expanded their zone...