According to US official Jon Cebra, the Kurds welcomed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein as "an opportunity to reintegrate into the rest of Iraq." But on the streets of the Kurdish capital, Irbil, no-one's interested in reintegretion. "Independence is on its way because Iraq's future is to be divided". The Kurds now have their own government and army and collect their own taxes. But more significantly, they're signing their own oil deals, and it's a very sensitive issue. The Kurdish government is also going to extreme lengths to boost the Kurdish population of Kirkuk, which it hopes will become the new capital. "They gave $10,000 to people to come back", states Azadeen. The Kurds were once said to be America's best friends in the Middle East. Now, they wonder whether their independence was ever part of America's plans. There was meant to be a referendum last December on the issue. That vote has now been postponed indefinitely but the issue is not going away. "If the referendum is not implemented, we are afraid that something will happen." states President Massoud Barzani. "What may happen, I can't tell you now. But for sure it will not remain like now".