The Kurdish autonomous region, established after the 1991 Gulf War, is protected by U.S.-British air patrols. It is governed by The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the east, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the west.
Based upon everything I've seen, your assertions are false. If you can point to any evidence that Saddam's forces held territory anywhere near the Ansar enclave, I'd love to see it.
This would be the no fly zone. I know that they had some amount of autonomy, but I do not believe that they were so independant that they could do as they pleased - otherwise they would not have been under sanctions and could have sold thier oil via Turkey, Iran, etc...
There were Iraqi troops in the north - the Kurds fought against them in the war (as did we) - I specifically recall this from the Situation Room threads, but do not have the time to look for the references.
I'm not saying that there was no autonomy and I am not saying that the kurds bear no responsibility - but to state that Iraq had nothing to do with the northern areas is simply not true.
Forces holding the territory is not the same as "indisputably not under the control of Saddam's government". The first implies that the Kurds were in complete control of their "autonomous area". They were manifestly not. Saddam's forces, and those friendly to him, were able to move within the area.
Besides, the area surrounding the camps was not in the control of the Kurds, else our forces would not have had to assault the area during the invasion. The area was held by pro-Saddam loyalists. Here is a quote from an article from the Weekly Standarddetailing some of the connections.
"14. According to a sensitive reporting [from] a "regular and reliable source," [Ayman al] Zawahiri, a senior al Qaeda operative, visited Baghdad and met with the Iraqi Vice President on 3 February 1998. The goal of the visit was to arrange for coordination between Iraq and bin Laden and establish camps in an-Nasiriyah and Iraqi Kurdistan under the leadership of Abdul Aziz."
"37. Sensitive reporting indicates senior terrorist planner and close al Qaeda associate al Zarqawi has had an operational alliance with Iraqi officials. As of Oct. 2002, al Zarqawi maintained contacts with the IIS to procure weapons and explosives, including surface-to-air missiles from an IIS officer in Baghdad. According to sensitive reporting, al Zarqawi was setting up sleeper cells in Baghdad to be activated in case of a U.S. occupation of the city, suggesting his operational cooperation with the Iraqis may have deepened in recent months. Such cooperation could include IIS provision of a secure operating bases [sic] and steady access to arms and explosives in preparation for a possible U.S. invasion. Al Zarqawi's procurements from the Iraqis also could support al Qaeda operations against the U.S. or its allies elsewhere.
38. According to sensitive reporting, a contact with good access who does not have an established reporting record: An Iraqi intelligence service officer said that as of mid-March the IIS was providing weapons to al Qaeda members located in northern Iraq, including rocket propelled grenade (RPG)-18 launchers. According to IIS information, northern Iraq-based al Qaeda members believed that the U.S. intended to strike al Qaeda targets during an anticipated assault against Ansar al-Islam positions.
The memo further reported pre-war intelligence which "claimed that an Iraqi intelligence official, praising Ansar al-Islam, provided it with $100,000 and agreed to continue to give assistance."