CIA commits to ensuring eternal war between Iraqi Kurds and Iraqi government: A CIA memo of March 22, 1974 states Iran’s and the United States’ position clearly: “We would think that Iran would not look with favor on the establishment of a formalized autonomous government. Iran, like ourselves, has seen benefit in a stalemate situation … in which Iraq is intrinsically weakened by the Kurds’ refusal to relinquish [their] semi-autonomy. Neither Iran nor ourselves wish to see the matter resolved one way or the other.”