Every Kurdish official, foreign businessman, or diplomat, knows that regional leader Masud Barzani and his immediate family have far greater power than Kurdistan’s constitution indicates.

Turkish diplomats tell their American counterparts that they need the helicopters to combat Kurdish guerillas. Turkey may have other motives however. Turkish President Abdullah Gül has suggested Turkey might seek to punish Kurds collectively for the actions of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Transparency matters. Regardless of the mansion's ownership, if President Barzani is sincere about combating corruption, he should require that every official serving in his government detail their property holdings and business interests, not only in Iraqi Kurdistan, but also abroad.

On December 2, rioters allegedly stirred up by preachers at Friday prayers rampaged through Zakho, destroying a controversial massage parlor before moving on to torch several liquor shops and hotels. In retaliation, a mob of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) activists attacked the local office of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) and KIU media offices in nearby Duhok and Semel.

Obama's foreign policy style is akin to a gambler at a blackjack table who wants to sit at the table' but place his bets only after the dealer has laid out the cards.

On July 14, 2011, Frédéric Tissot, France's consul-general in Iraqi Kurdistan, stood up at Bastille Day celebrations in Erbil and, in the presence of regional president Masud Barzani, spoke about the need for freedom and democracy in the region.

It is time Masud Barzani returns to Erbil, breaks his isolation, and embraces the free press for what it is: the surest path to good governance.

Once again, as in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, the Obama administration's silence has consequences.