kurds and us.

[jimbowie1]

Im kind of on the fence about leaving the kurdish fighters , they have been our only true allies in the fight against issi, now we are leaving them to guard thousands of issi prisoners,while turkey is killing the kurds, what happens when isis, starts up again??.If we are going to pull our troops out {AS WE SHOULD] Why not afganistan we have been there 18 years and other then the first week, the rest of the time we are being told it was to train the afgan army??? REALLY??how long does it take to train people to fight??? we could have trained pigs to fight in half the time. So now we pull out a few hundred of our military and leave the kurds to get wiped out while we send a couple thousand troops and 2 dozen f16,s to saudi?????? You good folks know im a trump supporter but I think he is WRONG on this decision.We should have just DESTROYED AFGANISTAN, in the first 24 hours after 911 and I mean destroy everything popi fields infrastructure EVERYTHING and used our navy and airforce no boots on the ground and told the world OK who is next, IMO no country would ever attack us again. but no our government got us locked up in the mideast and we will never get out,The kurds have fought with us thru 2 wars over there and here we go running out on them,I know Im ranting but, our service men and women who have fought beside the KURDS say they are loyal to america, this is no way to treat friends. JMO

[PeterEnergy]

Originally Posted by jimbowie1

Im kind of on the fence about leaving the kurdish fighters

I'm against leaving the Kurds, in theory. The ME is so complicated and convoluted, it's very unclear what this means in practice. For instance, how is pulling out of Syria leaving the Kurds?

Originally Posted by jimbowie1

they have been our only true allies in the fight against issi, now we are leaving them to guard thousands of issi prisoners,while turkey is killing the kurds, what happens when isis, starts up again??

It is wrong even without considering the quid pro quo.

I suppose the ugly world of diplomacy begins by jettisoning a black and white world view, where these are our enemies and these are our friends. International dynamics are far more complicated than that!

On these issues, we are allies but on these issues we are, if not enemies, we are opponents. <sigh>

[hoplite59]

Don't confuse the Pesh Merga with the Syrian Kurds.

[jimbowie1]

hoplite59,
I dont know the difference between the 2, I guess I should study these things more, before i make a statement, I thought KURDS were KURDS but I see what you mean thats like saying american are americans but we see every day there is quite a difference, I will learn more about the KURDS that have supported us and the other Kurds that dont support us. Every thing over there is ass backwards ! day they are our friends the next day they hate us,

[hardcalibres]

Originally Posted by jimbowie1

hoplite59,
Every thing over there is ass backwards ! day they are our friends the next day they hate us,

I imagine that the Kurds now say the above about Americans.

[cujet]

We've managed to alienate everyone in the middle east, that's for sure. But don't blame us, they are the ones who can't behave.

[NW GUY]

WHICH is CORRECT..

The enemy of my enemy is my friend..

or

The enemy of my enemy is still my enemy?

[PalmettoTree]

As some point one must have faith that leaders are doing what they think is best with information we do not have. Hopefully we find that faith is not misplaced.

We shall see.

[gavrilo princip]

We could have put a little effort into formulating some kind of transition program that might have included safe zones for the Kurds. We haven't pulled all US resources out of Syria, we've just decoupled them from the Kurds and told them not to interfere with the Turkish invasion.
Interesting aspect is that for the Turks not to attack any US positions, the US must have told the Turks where US troops are located so the Turks could avoid targeting them with artillery or air strikes. It would be excellent strategy for the Kurds to concentrate around US positions so they can avoid artillery and air strikes if they have to retreat, regroup and counterattack. Eventually the ISIS types who are allied with the Turks will target US troops, probably with a suicide vehicle. The Turks will probably claim that the attack was a mistake.
Imagine what it would be like if US carrier strikes had to target Turks and their militia allies to protect US forces in close proximity to the Kurds. Imagine what would happen if US efforts to evacuate the remainder of our forces were opposed by Kurds who would inevitably blame the Turks.

[AZ_HighCountry]

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/sk...in-wreck-86931

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/sk...-shocked-86471

[billwilla]

Kurds are mooselimbs. If they were the only ones left in power after we "helped" them, they'd start working on ways to strike at the great satan just like all factions of the religion of pieces do.

[Asag]

Originally Posted by hoplite59

Don't confuse the Pesh Merga with the Syrian Kurds.

The Pesh Merga has had and may still have Kurds from Syria, Iran and Turkey as fighters. The Kurds in the region do have a single focal point that unites them regardless of politics and family alliances and that is an independent Kurdish state that includes areas of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq.

[SCPigpen]

Originally Posted by Asag

The Pesh Merga has had and may still have Kurds from Syria, Iran and Turkey as fighters. The Kurds in the region do have a single focal point that unites them regardless of politics and family alliances and that is an independent Kurdish state that includes areas of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq.

and the only way they will get that independent state is if they fight all four of those countries to take that land from them and they cant do that. Even if they could, they would still end up fighting amongst themselves for control.

i dont think any of that is any of our business.

[The Old Coach]

I trust Turks about as far as I can throw a Buick, but I gotta admit the Kurds have been a thorn in their side. In a just world Anatolia would still be full of Greeks, but the ME isn't a just world. Hasn't been since muhamed started diddling 9-year-old girls. We can't fix it without sterilizing it, and we have neither the means nor the will to do that.

Opposing Assad was a fools' errand. Only the Obama administration, and particularly Her Pantsuit, would have done it, and that only because Her Pantsuit's cronies stood to make a buck. For a party that claims that oil is ruining the planet, the Dems sure do like the money they make off of it.

[PalmettoTree]

Originally Posted by The Old Coach

I trust Turks about as far as I can throw a Buick, but I gotta admit the Kurds have been a thorn in their side. In a just world Anatolia would still be full of Greeks, but the ME isn't a just world. Hasn't been since muhamed started diddling 9-year-old girls. We can't fix it without sterilizing it, and we have neither the means nor the will to do that.

Opposing Assad was a fools' errand. Only the Obama administration, and particularly Her Pantsuit, would have done it, and that only because Her Pantsuit's cronies stood to make a buck. For a party that claims that oil is ruining the planet, the Dems sure do like the money they make off of it.

For all their evils and shortcomings both Putin and Xi Jinping hate Islam more than we do. That single fact is going to be their advantage over the US.

[PeterEnergy]

Are Kurds Christian or Muslim?

[PalmettoTree]

Originally Posted by PeterEnergy

Are Kurds Christian or Muslim?

Kurds are Christians. More accurately put it is the Kurdish Christians that are under attack. There are Kurds that are Muslims. Muslim Kurds that tolerate Christians are under attack fro fellow Muslims because they are working against the teachings of Muhammad.

[IC_Rafe]

Originally Posted by PeterEnergy

Are Kurds Christian or Muslim?

Maybe you could ask individual Kurds instead of again trying to get everyone together under a single group label. It'd be the same as me asking: are Americans Catholic or Atheists? Guess the individual doesn't count in your reasoning. All for the good of the party .

[Nomad, 2nd]

Originally Posted by billwilla

Kurds are mooselimbs. .

Incorrect.

Some are, some are christians, and some are a third religion that IIRC is a deist (spirits in rocks.And trees etc) religion.


Kurds are good people (by and large) while (generally speaking) Arabs are untrustworthy scum.

Delt with both.


Even Islamic Kurds like Americans.

[Asag]

Originally Posted by Nomad, 2nd

Incorrect.

Some are, some are christians, and some are a third religion that IIRC is a deist (spirits in rocks.And trees etc) religion.


Kurds are good people (by and large) while (generally speaking) Arabs are untrustworthy scum.

Delt with both.


Even Islamic Kurds like Americans.

Turkish Kurds in the U.K. are somewhat prone to being participants in organised crime whilst Turks although not unknown participants are less inclined. Turkish Cypriots are also fond of a scam.