Brahma's atheist

They're being screwed from every direction.
Fellow Muslims in Turkey are oppressing them. Iraq is oppressing them. America under Papa Bush promised to help them then dumped when the last gulf war ended. Muslims in the hills with the help of Al Queda(?) are trying to destroy their attempts at democracy. The other muslim countries around them are probably worried that if they are free from oppression they may actually have a working democracy (I really hope they do), Turkey is definately worried.
"Democracy is un-Islamic" A direct quote from a Saudi minister.

Sabine Grant

Hello... I agree. Let us not forget Iran's oppression also. Ethnic minorities are the ones who suffer the most in the midst of mercantilist interests. As demontrasted in the Balkan war with thousands of Macedonians fleeing their land. While in Italy, I interacted with a muslim Macedonian family who went from a refugee camp in Germany to the desolation and poverty of trying to survive in the "gutter" of Naples.

Morgan

The Kurds in the Middle East seem to be like the Jews in Nazi Germany. I've never really understood why many Arab countries seem to hate them. Convienient scapegoat, perhaps.

However, the Americans and British can't make a moral case for attacking Iraq for the Kurds' sake while giving 28 billion dollars of aid to the Turks who are even more oppressive.

Gurdur

Screwed by the West since 1916 (when they were promised an independent state by the British who later reneged), screwed by the Middle East for the last 400 years (ever since the newcomer Ottoman Turks did them over).

BTW, they're an Indo-European people with an Indo-European language, closely related to the Persians and Farsi.
Quite a few are also members of a semi-Islamic religious minority despised as "devil-worshippers" by more orthodox Moslems, so they get screwed for that too.

Mind you, they do a damn good job of screwing themselves as well; Kurdish leadership is noted for its corruption, internicine bloody warfare and clan hatreds lasting centuries.

BTW, one of the famous Ottoman Turkish Empire Sultans was a Kurd.

garraty

Yer poor Kurds, once Saddaam is gone and the no fly zone lifted they won't be able to sell oil illegally to support thier own corrupt clans and the odd terrorist group.

Poor oppressed Kurds, screwed over by the British 100 years ago, but when Iraq does exactly what they would do if the had the power; take back lands carved up by Britannia, they get stuck with 12 years of crippling sanctions and constant bombing runs.



WOW! 200 posts! Only took me 2 and a bit years.

Amen-Moses

I feel sorry for the Kurds as well, and the Whey, noone ever mentions the Whey!

Amen-Moses