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Article: Operation Desert Strike; History reveals Kurds' bitter oppression and abandonment The struggle between the two main Iraqi Kurd factions has cost them an opportunity to advance their common cause and has brought Iran and Iraq, two of their most implacable tormentors, into their territory.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- September 4, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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An old Kurdish proverb states: "The Kurds have no friends." A glance at their 20th-century history reveals the bitter experience behind the proverb. They are the largest ethnic group in the world that has no national territory. They have been brutally oppressed in the three countries - Turkey, Iran and Iraq - in which most Kurds live. They have been seduced and abandoned by all the great powers, at least twice by the United States.
But in the events leading up to Tuesday's U.S. missile attacks, the Kurds would have to add themselves to the list of groups that have contributed to their plight. The struggle for control between the two main Iraqi Kurd factions has ...