Posted on 11/18/2014 1:55:29 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Syria no longer exists.
The tyrannical regime of Bashar al-Assad governs parts of what’s left of it. The psychopathic Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) controls another large swath. Small scraps of territory are ruled by sundry other militias which, more likely than not, will eventually be absorbed by Assad or ISIS.
Up north the Kurds have carved out a proto state of their own which they call Rojava. It is being violently squeezed by ISIS from the south, and it’s jammed up against the wall of the Turkish border to the north. It is split into three besieged non-contiguous cantons, the most endangered of which is based around the city of Kobani.
Yet Syrian Kurdistan, spliced and diced though it may be, stubbornly continues existing.
ISIS says Rojava is an atheist entity that must be destroyed. Turkey says it’s a left-wing terrorist state that must at least be resisted.
The United States quietly considers Rojava an ally.
Darius Bazargan produced a short documentary about Kurdish Syria for the BBC’s Our World called Rojava: Syria’s Secret Revolution, where we see Commander Redur Khalil, spokesman for the armed forces: If the American and European plans are to succeed, he says, “they will need allies on the ground.” He and his people are it. There is no one else.
Their ideology is quasi-Marxist, which is hardly ideal, but it’s vastly preferable to the Assad regime and ISIS. At the very least it ensures there is no religious repression. Women, men, and people from all religious backgrounds—secular or otherwise—have the same rights. Apostates from Islam and converts to Christianity face no persecution. Jews wouldn’t suffer much either if there were many around.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldaffairsjournal.org ...
that one culture that got jack up through the world history
The Kurds are modern day Spartans: beseiged and outnumbered, but unrepentant and unbowed.
CC
You have the give the Kurds a lot of credit; they’ve been gassed by Saddam Hussein, butchered by ISIS and the Turks have routinely killed them for decades. Thrashed from all sides by everyone and they have made it so far.
I can only assume 0bama will declare them an “existential threat to the US” any day and have John Stoogin’ Kerry denounce their continued existence on the planet and threaten to withhold what paltry aid they get.
What a dirtbag part of the world.
This is the unraveling of the artificial boundaries created by the Sykes-Picot Treaty after WW-1 All of the old religious and tribal identities will re-assert themselves over time. Do not look for any cohesion in Syria, Iraq, Iran, etc.
I am really amazed at how resilient they are.
Here they are with not very sophisticated weapons fighting a terrorist army that has captured US armaments, and still HOLDING THEIR OWN, and in fact, BEATING THEM BACK!
Of course, we have to give the US airforce credit for this, but still, these are extremely courageous fighters who are worthy of our support.
I need to learn more about the Kurds, and how (other than geographically) they differ from other ethnic groups in that area. Maybe Oliver Stone or Mel Gibson will make a movie about their strength, unrelenting focus and resiliency; qualities our American leaders used to openly strive for, in ways to our benefit.
The Kurds are like the Israelis, but without the major weapons.
Wouldn’t the United States(at least the feds) be currently considered quasi-Marxist?
Arm the Kurds with the best and most modernized weaponry, and tell them we will look away, they can do what they want to the ISIS militia. With sufficient logistics to support them, the Kurds could take this clear to Damascus and Baghdad, and just might sweep up some of Turkey and Iran as well.
Be the best buffer state we could plant in the middle of what is a constantly erupting volcano.
ISIS is truly frightened of the Kurds. Django Unchained times a thousand. Or even a greater ratio.
———The United States quietly considers Rojava an ally.-—
The US considers Rojava to be a de facto nation. The current American efforts are actually about setting final the borders.
Iraq and Syria were.
What is being debated behind the curtain is Kurdish Turkey. Once the militant Kurds in Turkey learn they are not going to be part of the new nation the area can stabilize.
Thus sayeth bert for the unpteenth time
You must have some insider information deep in the bowels of the State Department :)
Many of the borders in the mid-east feature a sand berm and fence.
Several months ago, ISIS made a big deal of breaching the sand berm between Syria and Iraq...most of us in the west paid little attention. That was a huge signal in the mid-east though - there are no borders in the caliphate.
Out of the chaos of Syria’s civil war, mainly Kurdish leftists have forged an egalitarian, multi-ethnic mini-state run on communal lines. But with ISIS Jihadists attacking them at every opportunity — especially around the beleaguered city of Kobane, how long can this idealistic social experiment last? From the frontlines to the refugee camps, Mehran Bozorgnia filmed in Rojava for the BBC’s Our World and has gained exclusive access and a revealing snapshot of Syria’s secret revolution.
http://youtu.be/fKhjJfH0ra4
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