It was created in 1946 under Mulla Mustafa Barzani with initial goals based on Kurdish nationalist aspirations and the desire for self-government.

[2] Over time, Barzani and his supporters evolved the mission of the KDP into a fight for "the full rights of the Kurds for self-determination ... achieved through peaceful means in a democratic, pluralist, and federal Iraq.

[4] Barzani led rebellions intermittently against the governments of Iraq (First and Second Iraqi–Kurdish Wars), Iran, and Turkey, in hopes of gaining larger revolutionary forces each time.

The PUK has come to represent a more urban, intellectual, and politically forward group of people, versus the traditional rhetoric of the KDP.

The KDP and PUK, although separate political parties, fought the same opponent, the government of Iraq under the leadership of Saddam Hussein.

Intermittent negotiations occurred between the two groups to discuss party platforms and to try to come to a consensus on representation; however the Ba'ath were exceptionally distrustful of the Kurds and harbored suspicions against the KDP, especially of leader Barzani.

[7] In September 1980, Iraq engaged in warfare with Iran over the Shatt al-Arab and rather than a quick victory the war had degenerated into a very long drawn out stalemate.

Since the beginning of the warfare, the KDP under Barazanis established a solid alliance with the Iranians, while the PUK - a leftist organization, kept its distance from the newly created conservative Islamic Republic of Iran, receiving logistic support from Baathist Syria and from Libya.

A wide variety of war tactics were used in this conflict, everything from the most simple hit and run to advanced chemical warfare.

To combat the Ba'ath the Kurd's strategy involved the use of guerrilla warfare and armed with light weapons either stolen from the Iraqi troops or given to them by the Iranians.

Kurdish guerrilla tactics of hit and run did not prove to be successful against the firepower of the Iraqis during aerial bombardment and shelling.

The grid facilitated a mechanized detonation of heavy artillery in predetermined areas by fighter planes and inflicted the greatest destruction possible.

The process of village collectivization violated widespread human rights and is an example of systematic genocide that went unchecked by the global community.

Secure zones, or cluster camps, were created along the Iranian border as well as outside the cities of Erbil, Mosul, and Suleimaniyeh.

With the overthrow of the Ba'ath government by the United States in 2003 the Kurds have increased diplomatic means to seek further gains towards legitimacy.

The United States and Kurdish parties disagree over the ethnic alignment of the regional government, and this disagreement continues to stall any concrete gains from occurring.

The United States believes a non-ethnically defined government is best for the region so that the collective majority can broker an identity and connect both politically and as a society.

[15] This is a step in the direction of autonomy and a method for the Kurdish population to showcase their abilities in governing themselves and generating a productive self-sufficient economy.

[17] In addition, Iran was an ally of Masud Barzani's and aided the KDP with arms and training of peshmerga forces and leaders.

The constant siege by the Kurds preoccupied the Ba'ath and prevented the army from devoting entire resources to conquering the Iranians.