Iraq conflict : Why Irbil matters
▻http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28711493
More recently, Irbil has become a destination in its own right for “the internationals” - the expat employees of multinational firms and aid agencies whose presence in Iraq remains a visible legacy of the US-led invasion.
Global oil giants have been setting up shop in the city, lured by the promise of Iraqi Kurdistan’s untapped energy reserves. They have driven up real-estate prices and transformed a dusty backwater into an even dustier boomtown. The sand now is from countless building sites, as well as the nearby desert.