U.S.-Backed Kurdish Leaders Accused of Abuse

NPR | By Ivan Watson

Published June 24, 2003 at 12:00 AM EDT

Some Kurds in northern Iraq charge they were victims of abuse and corruption by the two main Kurdish political parties that have controlled the region with U.S. and British support since 1992. American staffers in the region privately express alarm about the behavior of their war-time allies. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

Ivan Watson

Ivan Watson is currently based in Istanbul, Turkey. Following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, he has served as one of NPR's foreign "firemen," shuttling to and from hotspots around the Middle East and Central Asia.

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