Good Kurds, Bad Kurds: No Friends But the Mountains (2000)

A war of national liberation or a war against terrorism? Film-maker and acclaimed freelance journalist Kevin McKiernan poses this question at the outset of this stirring, provocative film shot in part by legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler. It's all in how you define "good" and "bad." "Good Kurds" are those in Iraq: they're Saddam Hussein's victims, whom we want to help. "Bad Kurds" are those waging an armed insurrection against Turkey, an American ally: they're at the receiving end of U.S. weaponry. McKiernan went to northern Iraq to cover the revolt against Saddam Hussein. Just a few miles away, no one was covering the hidden war in Turkey. McKiernan determined he would report the story independently. 'Good Kurds, Bad Kurds' brings a sharp clarity to a complex history, while providing disturbing insight into immigration practices and U.S. foreign policy.