Not the same thing at all. The kurds are not being ethnically cleansed at the moment. They did however cleanse the land they stole. The nazi comparison is closer to their actions. Turkey is the allies in this case... returning people to their lands and removing the ethnic cleansers... the kurds. Forcing a retreat of terrorist forces is not the same as nazis and poles.
Maybe you should hear both sides instead if biting kurdish propaganda first. I read it all and judge after.
Militia did those incidents and is not the army... militia are likely just as bad as terrorists. not saying they are angels but the kurds in syria who are stealing land are terrorists by their actions. they are also intermixed with the pkk. Educate yourself.
The lands they store? They have lived in northern Syria for hundreds of years. They have been suppressed for over a hundred years. It is crazy how much the west has screwed the Kurds over. Since World War One when they were promised their land. Then the western world took it away. They are people and culture with no country even though they have lived and fought countless times for others.
The Kurds’ commander in chief explains why his forces are finally ready to partner with Assad and Putin. BY MAZLOUM ABDI | OCTOBER 13, 2019, 1:27 PM If We Have to Choose Between Compromise and Genocide, We Will Choose Our People The world first heard of us, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), amid the chaos of our country’s civil war. I serve as our commander in chief. The SDF has 70,000 soldiers who have fought against jihadi extremism, ethnic hatred, and the oppression of women since 2015. They have become a very disciplined, professional fighting force. They never fired a single bullet toward Turkey. U.S. soldiers and officers now know us well and always praise our effectiveness and skill. I have always told our forces, this war is ours! The jihadi terrorists of the Islamic State came to Syria from all over the world. We are the ones who should fight them, because they have occupied our lands, looted our villages, killed our children, and enslaved our women. We lost 11,000 soldiers, some of our best fighters and commanders, to rescue our people from this grave danger. I have also always instructed our forces that the Americans and other allied forces are our partners, and so we should always make sure that they are not harmed. Amid the lawlessness of war, we always stuck with our ethics and discipline, unlike many other nonstate actors. We defeated al Qaeda, we eradicated the Islamic State, and, at the same time, we built a system of good governance based on small government, pluralism, and diversity. We provided services through local governing authorities for Arabs, Kurds, and Syriac Christians. We called on a pluralistic Syrian national identity that is inclusive for all. This is our vision for Syria’s political future: decentralized federalism, with religious freedom and respect for mutual differences. The forces that I command are now dedicated to protecting one-third of Syria against an invasion by Turkey and its jihadi mercenaries. The area of Syria we defend has been a safe refuge for people who survived genocides and ethnic cleansings committed by Turkey against the Kurds, Syriacs, Assyrians, and Armenians during the last two centuries. We guard more than 12,000 Islamic State terrorist prisoners and bear the burden of their radicalized wives and children. We also protect this part of Syria from Iranian militias. When the whole world failed to support us, the United States extended its hands. We shook hands and appreciated its generous support. At Washington’s request, we agreed to withdraw our heavy weapons from the border area with Turkey, destroy our defensive fortifications, and pull back our most seasoned fighters. Turkey would never attack us so long as the U.S. government was true to its word with us. We are now standing with our chests bare to face the Turkish knives. President Donald Trump has been promising for a long time to withdraw U.S. troops. We understand and sympathize. Fathers want to see their children laughing on their laps, lovers want to hear the voices of their partners whispering to them, everyone wants to go back to their homes. We, however, are not asking for American soldiers to be in combat. We know that the United States is not the world police. But we do want the United States to acknowledge its important role in achieving a political solution for Syria. We are sure that Washington has sufficient leverage to mediate a sustainable peace between us and Turkey. We believe in democracy as a core concept, but in light of the invasion by Turkey and the existential threat its attack poses for our people, we may have to reconsider our alliances. The Russians and the Syrian regime have made proposals that could save the lives of millions of people who live under our protection. We do not trust their promises. To be honest, it is hard to know whom to trust. What’s clear is that the threat of the Islamic State is still present in a network of sleeper cells capable of mounting an insurgency. The large number of Islamic State prisoners in inadequate confinement are like a ticking time bomb that might explode at any time. We know that we would have to make painful compromises with Moscow and Bashar al-Assad if we go down the road of working with them. But if we have to choose between compromises and the genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people. Syria has two options: a religious sectarian and ethnic bloody war if the United States leaves without reaching a political solution, or a safe and stable future—but only if the United States uses its power and leverage to reach an agreement before it withdraws. The reason we allied ourselves with the United States is our core belief in democracy. We are disappointed and frustrated by the current crisis. Our people are under attack, and their safety is our paramount concern. Two questions remain: How can we best protect our people? And is the United States still our ally?
Turkish attack on Syria endangers a remarkable democratic experiment by the Kurds Turkey’s attack on Kurdish-run territory in northern Syria will likely snuff out a radical experiment in self-government that is unlike anything I have seen in more than 30 years studying the Middle East. In a surprise Oct. 6 statement, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw its troops from northern Syria. Approximately 1,000 American soldiers had been stationed in that region as a buffer separating Kurdish forces – who had been working with the Americans in the fight against the Islamic State – from Turkish troops. Turkey feared that the Syrian Kurds would link up with Turkey’s Kurdish minority who have demanded autonomy or independence. On Oct. 9, the Turkish military began its assault, pummeling Kurdish-held territory with artillery and airstrikes. Kurds are rapidly evacuating the region and at least 24 people have been killed in northern Syria. Retaliatory strikes from Syria have killed civilians in southern Turkey. According to Turkish president Recep Erdogan, Turkey’s goal is to create a buffer zone separating Syria’s Kurds from the Turkish border. But his country’s attack will do much more than that. If successful, it will destroy the most full-fledged democracy the Middle East has yet to see. A different way to govern The Kurds call their autonomous region in Syria “Rojava,” meaning “the land where the sun sets.” Kurdish-led forces took possession of this swath of territory in northern and eastern Syria from direct Syrian government control in 2012. Then they successfully defended it against the Islamic State. Kurdish Syria is a small portion of a territory, known as Kurdistan, that includes parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Kurdistan is home to approximately 25-35 million Kurds, a cultural and ethnic minority in the Middle East. The key to understanding the Rojava project, as those involved often refer to it, is the notion of “confederalism.” In this form of government, local units – in this case, Kurdistan’s “autonomous regions” – come together in a federation yet retain a great deal of autonomy. Because sovereign power belongs to the local units and not to a central government, Kurdish confederalism differs from an American-style federal system. The Kurds are so serious about devolving power to the local level that Rojava’s charter requires each of its three regions to have its own flag. And within each region, local elected councils are in charge. They organize garbage collection, adjudicate disputes and manage public health and safety. Confederalism sets the Kurds apart from almost every other government in the Middle East. Across the region, power is concentrated at the top. Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, is an authoritarian leader who has ruthlessly crushed his opponents in the country’s eight-year civil war. Egypt has a military government. Saudi Arabia has a king. But Rojava would be an exceptional society almost anywhere. Rojava’s charter guarantees freedom of expression and assembly and equality of all religious communities and languages. It mandates direct democracy, term limits and gender equality. Men and women share every position in government. Kurdish women have fought the Islamic State in Syria as soldiers in an all-female militia. In a region where religion and politics are often intertwined, the Kurdish state is secular. Religious leaders cannot serve in politics. Rojava’s charter even affirms the right of all citizens to a healthy environment. Surrounding countries, including Syria, also have constitutions with eloquent endorsements of political and human rights. In Rojava, however, the constitution is actually in effect. Syrian Kurds have realized the dream of the 2010-2011 pro-democracy uprisings across the Arab world. Rojava’s downsides Internal cleavages in Syria’s Kurdish community undermine the Rojava project – namely, the perpetual jockeying for power between rival Kurdish clans and the struggle for preeminence among Turkish, Syrian and Iraqi Kurds. The Kurds also have a troubled relationship with Syria’s Arabs and other groups. Beginning in the 1960s, the Syrian government began moving other populations to Kurdish territory to challenge Kurdish dominance there, sparking Kurdish resentment. The devastation wrought by the Islamic State – such as the mass murder of the Yazidis, a religious minority within the Kurdish community, and sexual enslavement of their women – further fueled this resentment. There have been numerous reports of Kurdish soldiers taking violent revenge against captured Islamic State members, alleged collaborators and even entire villages suspected of aiding the Islamic State enemy. The Kurdish region of Syria also has some politically problematic origins. The Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party – Rojava’s leading political party – played an outsized role in the creation of Rojava. The party is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a far-left militant group that has fought against the Turkish government, first for the independence of Kurds from Turkey in the 1980s and 1990s, then – in the early 2000s – for their autonomy within Turkish borders. Many Kurds in Rojava consider PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan a national hero. It was Ocalan who came up with the idea of confederalism in the first place, back in 2005. But both Turkey and the United States consider the PKK to be a terrorist organization. The PKK is currently conducting an insurgency against the Turkish government. Danger ahead The Rojava project is now in imminent peril. Even if Turkey hadn’t launched its military offensive, Rojava would probably still have a tenuous future. The Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party has refused to take sides in the Syrian civil war. Its vision, now realized, lay elsewhere. Nevertheless, it is doubtful that the Syrian regime will reward Kurds for their relative impartiality during the civil war. Nor is it likely that the regime will reward them for limiting their goal to autonomy instead of independence. The reason: Rojava sits atop Syria’s largest oil fields.
This is so obviously BS propaganda to lash out at the US and build support. Lie number 1: ethnic hatred, and the oppression of women since 2015 They let women fight in their army and hold office, but they also practice polygamy and genetic mutilation in many Kurdish groups. Also if you look at some pictures of the women fighting, they look like teens. Child soldiers essentially. Yeah, real progressive eh? Just google some of this stuff, really. It takes two seconds. Type in female genital mutilation kurds. Or kurds child soldiers. Or Kurds polygamy. Just google some before you go posting stuff you get off the twatter. Lie number 2: because they have occupied our lands, looted our villages... The Kurds kicked out populations and stole this land and the homes in these villages they they more than likely looted as well. This argument is horseshit since they never had a Kurdish State. Also a large portion of these fighters are from other countries as well. This is Syrian land and they are not letting Arabs and Christians return to their homes. Lie number 3: we built a system of good governance based on small government, pluralism, and diversity. We provided services through local governing authorities for Arabs, Kurds, and Syriac Christians. We called on a pluralistic Syrian national identity that is inclusive for all. This is our vision for Syria’s political future: decentralized federalism, with religious freedom and respect for mutual differences. These people, first of all, cleansed the land they stole. They did not make some bastion of peace for Christians and Arabs. That's horseshit. They came in and displaced people. They also are pulling the wool over people's eyes. Decentralized federalism. They are anarcho-communists. This is well know to anyone who has studied the Kurds past the propaganda they spew out to western media outlets that parrot their **** to the masses who see one child soldier teen girl fighter picture and suddenly oh, they are experts in Syria and Kurdish issues. Lie number 4: President Donald Trump has been promising for a long time to withdraw U.S. troops. We understand and sympathize. Fathers want to see their children laughing on their laps, lovers want to hear the voices of their partners whispering to them, everyone wants to go back to their homes. This is clearly an emotional argument and very much classic propaganda. Paint a picture, tell a story, yadayada. They don't understand and sympathize.The entire piece is about how awful the US is for stopping their support of them because now they are about to get rolled on because they lack an airforce. Lie number 5: We believe in democracy as a core concept No, they don't. They are communists at the core. This is a facade for the west because they know the west is pro-democracy and this will endear them to you. Lie number 6: The reason we allied ourselves with the United States is our core belief in democracy. Bullshit. The reason they allied with the US is because they needed weapons and an airforce to back their plans to build a new country by stealing land from Syria, the rightful owners. They are a communist movement. Democracy is a buzzword for propaganda purposes. Lie number 7: Two questions remain: How can we best protect our people? And is the United States still our ally? These questions don't remain. They can retreat to protect their people the best. Put their guns down and surrender to Turkey or die fighting and leave their numerous wives and children orphaned. They also know the answer to the last question and have since the start. They used our generosity and took advantage of the power vacuum, and we took advantage of the militia they provided so politicians could sell their limited war campaign.
Dachuda, if you can't post links to any of your claims then nobody is going to take it seriously. Why bother reading your responses when it's just you making a bunch of claims that and expecting us to go fact check for you?
So much horseshit in that article. Read my other post because it addresses this. You're an outright idiot for buying into the Kurdistan trash. That isn't a real place. It's a fictional land they want to create that doesn't actually exist because they don't want to get along with other ethnicity. They want their own ethnostate. They are the ethnostaters in this situation. Literally... Kurdistand. It's in the name. Their democratic confederation freedom BS is purely propagada. These are commies and they are have practiced ethnic cleansing in the recent past and distant past.
Says mr. doesn't link his comments. lol I actually have posted things that are easy to google. I don't need to do homework for you. Google kurds female genital mutilation. kurds communists. Kurds child soldiers. Kurds history of. kurds ethnic cleansing (you'll see they are victims of this and perpetrators)
They are not all northern syrians. They are flooding in from all over and they are taking villages that were not theirs. Do some basic homework before you spew nonesense platitudes about how they are innocent defenders of their home and freedom fighters. These are aggressors bent on stealing land from others and creating an ethnostate. And ethnostate that wil screw over our NATO ally Turkey mind you. Do you think they will stop with a chunk of syria that was never theirs. A land they never ruled. No they will expand into Iraq, Iran, and Turkey to carve out a new country. This is conquest. This is an ethnostate in its inception and it needs to be rooted out before it sparks something large. Shame on Americans for turning their back on Turkey in the first place.
And what happened when I switch “Kurds” for “Turks” or “ISIS” into google. Lol. What a tool. You choose ISIS over the Kurds. That’s all I need to know.
I typed in TURKEY CHILD SOLDIER and it brought up how the Kurds there do this. So what is your point? lol You conflate ISIS and Turkey? Bro, you're really reaching. I think you really don't know **** about Turkey and the other groups in the area. You're just mad cause the media is eggin you on. You're the tool. Abandoning the Turks and allowing a terror state to pop up on their flank is simply unacceptable. The Kurds needed to be dealt with and dealt with they will. Am I going to think this will be a 100% ideal situation? Hell no. But clearing out the ethnostaters that are the communist Kurds is a priority for Turkey and we should be understanding of that. ISIS can be repressed if they gain any additional strength. Perhaps Trump wants that because our military always needs a good boogey man. But allowing Kurdistan would be a huge mistake. These people are not romantic freedom fighters working for a democracy. They are not defending their villages. They are land grabbers. As for Turkey, they need to limit their operation and cede the land when the mission is complete. If they hold the land, it will create a new set of problems. But it is unlikely to happen since world powers condemn such a thing and have warned them. It is more likely they will resettle the Syrians they are taking care of and may use it to reestablish ties with Damascus over time. There are tons of ways this can play out.
It's so weird Dachuda that nobody seems to agree with you. Are you Turkish? Defense Department and military officials are speaking out on this. Members of both parties of Congress are against this.
