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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Afrin a wake-up call for Syria’s Kurds
2018-03-22
[ARABNEWS] It was no coincidence that Ottoman Turkish troops hoisted their country’s flag on top of the Afrin city hall on March 18, as that date was the anniversary of a key Ottoman victory against Allied troops in Gallipoli in 1915. Although the timing is hardly a surprise, it goes to show how prevalent nationalism (and some might say ultra-nationalism) has become among the Ottoman Turkish ruling elite, both politically and militarily.

Pro-Ottoman Turkish Syrian gangs proceeded to pillage Afrin after its occupation. The city’s defenders, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), withdrew from the area after 58 days of fighting. Now the YPG and its political wing, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), must reevaluate their position in light of what has unfolded in Afrin. Since they are the dominant political force in the Kurdish-populated areas of northern Syria, their political calculations are crucial to the fate of Syria’s Kurds.

The PYD leadership should realize that international and regional powers will not accept a change in the established political borders of the Middle East, with the independence referendum fiasco in Iraqi Kurdistan last year decisive proof of this. For almost three decades, diplomacy was a lifeline for Iraqi Kurdistan’s leaders, as they enjoyed a special relationship with the United States. Unlike the areas now under Kurdish control in Syria, they were not dominated by forces linked or close to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). This has allowed Iraqi Kurds to enjoy political relations with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
Posted by:Fred

#4  Invading and hoisting a flag in a foreign country is not nationalism..

It's expansionism.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2018-03-22 13:00  

#3  If the four Kurdish regions (Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran) can ever get their act together

It would be the first time in the entire recorded history.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2018-03-22 02:39  

#2  Pisslam is cancer, it requires the scalpel, chemo and radiation to be eradicated. Unpleasant, for sure, but a choice that must be made before it's too late.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2018-03-22 00:53  

#1  The elephant in the room that is totally ignored in this article is Islamic expansionism. Erdogan has a mission to expand Islamic domination first and Turk expansionism as a close second, by any means necessary cancel's out Turkey's influence against Russia. Especially when Russia cooperated with the invasion of Afrin.

If the four Kurdish regions (Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran) can ever get their act together as one cohesive front with the goal of statehood by any means necessary, then they will have the resources to be able to defend themselves.
Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056   2018-03-22 00:48  

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