26页：
THE KURDS
The situation in northern Iraq had improved considerably since the Gulf War. Under the
protection of Operation Northern Watch (ONW), the successor to Operation Provide Comfort II,
the Kurds prospered. In 1998 the two main political parties, the KDP led by Massoud Barzani
and the PUK led by Jalal Talabani, put aside their differences and agreed to share power. The
KDP and PUK both possessed militias called the Peshmerga, which literally translated means
"those who face death." Although the Peshmerga primarily had small arms, what they lacked in
firepower they made up for in fierceness. By the time Task Force Viking arrived in March 2003,
there would be approximately 70,000 Peshmerga available to form a surrogate army to execute
the UW campaign in the north.55
THE KURDS
The situation in northern Iraq had improved considerably since the Gulf War. Under the
protection of Operation Northern Watch (ONW), the successor to Operation Provide Comfort II,
the Kurds prospered. In 1998 the two main political parties, the KDP led by Massoud Barzani
and the PUK led by Jalal Talabani, put aside their differences and agreed to share power. The
KDP and PUK both possessed militias called the Peshmerga, which literally translated means
"those who face death." Although the Peshmerga primarily had small arms, what they lacked in
firepower they made up for in fierceness. By the time Task Force Viking arrived in March 2003,
there would be approximately 70,000 Peshmerga available to form a surrogate army to execute
the UW campaign in the north.55