Weren't the Kurds on Irans side during the Iran/Iraq War?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Iran_mortars_Kurd_camp_in_north_Iraq.html?siteSect=143&sid=6985699&cKey=1155908266000

Iran "mortars Kurd camp" in north Iraq

KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - An Iraqi Kurdish official accused Iranian forces on Friday of firing a prolonged barrage of mortar shells at a camp of Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq, killing two civilians and wounding three others.

"The shelling started at 2:00 a.m. (11 p.m. British time) and ended at 1:00 p.m. (10 a.m. British time)," said Ruzgar Qrani, chief of security in Sinkser district, 165 km (100 miles) north east of Sulaimaniya, the largest city in Kurd-controlled northern Iraq.

Militants from minority Kurdish groups from Iran and Turkey have based themselves in northern Iraq and there have been a number of previous claims by Iraqi officials that their neighbours have conducted cross-border attacks.



Thats how I remember it anyway. That is why Saddam was charged with gassing them. Isn't it?

[notadmblnd]

1. The article itself says they dont' get along

Iraq and Iran didn't get along. Iraq and the Kurds didn't get along, the Kurds and the Turks didn't get along and the Kurds and the Iranians didn't get along. At least from what I know, it's how it goes.

[Jacobin]

2. Seems like the Kurds don't get along with any of the factions

Someday I'll google that up and see what the history is.

[johnaries]

3. the Kurds just wanted Independence from Iraq.

I had a Kurdish co-worker who's now acting as a translator over there. They just wanted to re-establish Kurdistan and then be left alone.

[Sinti]

4. Kind of - a shared enemy often makes for temporary friends

They wanted independence, and the midst of the Iran-Iraq war probably seemed like an opportune moment, especially if Iran won. Yes, that's why he was supposed to have gassed them, though there are still questions about whether that happened as they would have you believe. He certainly killed plenty of them, and many, many Shi'ites, as well.

A little of the story here:
http://www.crimesofwar.org/thebook/iran-iraq-war.html

[ikri]

5. The Kurds are on the side of the Kurds

They've wanted an independent homeland for years and have been willing to sign up with any group that gives them a chance of getting their wish.

I even remember an article from the start of the current Iraq debacle that suggested that about 90% of the new Iraqi army and police forces were Kurdish. That might have dropped considerably since then but they are likely to remain a powerful force in Iraq (not to mention splitting the country along ethnic grounds, civil war style, is in the Kurd's interest).