A Way Forward: Kurdish Independence

Picking an ally in the Middle East in the modern era is something like choosing which car the crook is going to steal from your garage. The Kurds are an alarm system. They are key if Daesh is to be truly defeated and peace restored to the region. In arming two Kurdish brigades last month..

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/12/17/defense-secretary-carter-vows-arm-kurdish-brigades-upcoming-battle-mosul/77496810/—- and taking over an air strip in Kurdish-Syria —–http://www.defensionem.com/u-s-military-now-in-control-of-syrian-air-base/—

America finally decided to get an alarm system. Now, the West must follow through on this continued support by protecting the Kurds from the maniac currently bombing them. That maniac? Surely one of the boogeymen for the West in Assad, Putin, Iran or the dastardly Daesh? None other than Recep Erodgan, President of Turkey, a NATO member of critical importance. Welcome to Middle East

The Kurds are a mostly progressive, democratic, diverse group of Arabs hailing from a homeland spread across 4 countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. They are our (meaning everyone from D.C. to Moscow besides Erdogan) steadfast ally in the fight against extremism. This sort of ally in an area plagued to it’s core with that specific issue seems wise to have on one’s side. In a land full of ethnicity’s, religions, denominations of said faiths, languages and tribes, the Kurdish people have proven to be tolerant of all who respect them. This contrasts drastically to most of the governments populating the Middle East. A real representative democracy, with women’s rights, a society built on tolerance of the various faiths, a thriving economy built out of the stability of this type of governance; it’s almost a mirage.

Threatened once again by those would deny the Kurdish people this way of life, the forces arrayed against them consist of an unholy alliance between Daesh fundamentalists and their Sunni backers around the Middle East, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia. As evil as Daesh and it’s ideology are to both the region and the world, Recep Erodgan’s policies are far more dangerous to Kurdish independence. After bombing Kurds in Syria and Iraq rather than fight ISIS, Erodgan doubled down by starting an offensive in the Kurdish towns of Cizre and Sirte in the Kurdish regions of Turkey a month ago.

The West’s best ally in the fight against the worst extremist group the world has have ever seen, in a region full of “allies” that very rarely act like them, is being attacked by the only Islamic nation in NATO. This is the same ally that nearly provoked Russia, world super power and NATO rival in Europe and Syria, by shooting down a jet that may or may not have violated it’s airspace for a span of seconds. An ally lead by a man who acts increasingly as a tyrant, changing laws and securing himself and his cronies more power. All this while simultaneously shuttering any opposition to his regime, including shutting down the internet in the country during protests, jailing political activists and journalists, and killing innocents wherever Kurdish flags fly. It is time that President Obama put aside his obvious distaste for actually leading his country and help the one ray of sunshine break through the storm clouds of sectarian conflict, the Kurds need our help.