Three days prior to the Kurdish independence referendum, Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani — who remains committed to holding that fateful referendum — spoke with The Guardian, expressing his despair at the lack on international support for Kurdistan's aspirations. “Is it a crime to ask our people to express themselves over what they want for the future?” he asked.

For him, the simple question to be found on the referendum — “Do you want the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdistani areas outside the region’s administration to become an independent state?” — should not have triggered such hostile reactions on the international stage.

He further told The Guardian: “It was surprising to see the reaction from the international community. Where is your democracy now? Where are the UN charters? Where is the respect for freedom of expression? After the big sacrifice of the peshmerga and breaking the myth of [the Islamic State], we thought they would respect this right.”

Dramatic developments in the past few days have proven Barzani wrong. Had Barzani predicted the international uproar over the referendum, would he still be as committed to the referendum? It is difficult to answer. But The Guardian observed that Barzani “appeared rattled by the intensity and volume of the opposition to the ballot," further mentioning that Barzani had thought the United States would support the referendum.