• Kurds of Iraq are angry for not being invited among the 21 countries to London for an anit-ISIS conf
    36 replies, posted
[quote]The president of Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday slammed the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for excluding the Kurds from an organizational meeting in London this week, noting that his hard-bitten peshmerga fighters had proven themselves the only capable force on the ground to combat the armed group. “We were expecting everyone to show respect to the sacrifices made by the people of Kurdistan and its peshmerga [fighters] by inviting a representative from Kurdistan to this event and similar such events,” Massoud Barzani said in a heated statement, as translated by Kurdish Rudaw news. The peshmerga “are the most effective force countering global terrorism today," he added. “It is unfortunate that the people of Kurdistan do the sacrifice and the credit goes to others." [B]It’s not clear why the Kurds were snubbed at the London conference, though many suspect it could simply be a matter of diplomatic protocol. Leaders from 21 countries involved in air strikes on ISIL targets across Syria and Iraq were present, including Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Inviting a regional leader like Barzani would have been an exception.[/B] But Barzani's disappointment is understandable. Since ISIL surged from its base in Syria to seize swaths of Iraq last summer, the Kurds have successfully defended their autonomous homeland in the north from the extremists. They have even been effective on the offensive, most critically on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq’s second city and ISIL’s most important holding in the country. Just a day before the London conference, peshmerga forces launched an offensive just west of Mosul, killing approximately 200 ISIL insurgents, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) said. The Kurds have paid a steep price for their aggressive bearing: [B]As of mid-December, more than 700 peshmerga fighters had fallen[/B], according to KRG numbers. The underpowered Iraqi military, meanwhile, has wilted before the ISIL onslaught, with reports of entire battalions abandoning their posts and even stripping off their military uniforms to avoid detection. ISIL has been known to summarily execute enemy combatants by the dozens. All the while, coalition members including the U.S. have sent the Kurds mixed messages, said Gonul Tol, director of the Center for Turkish Studies at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. [B]Over the past seven months, the U.S. and its allies have offered unprecedented military aid to Kurdish forces in order to pressure ISIL on the ground. The Kurds, Tol said, may have perceived this support as a sign that the U.S., which has long discouraged the Iraqi Kurds’ ambitions of independence from Iraq, could be shifting gears. [/B]A State Department representative even attended an oil conference in London that featured Kurdish representatives (independent Kurdish exports of oil have long been frowned upon by the U.S., seen as an affront to the central Iraqi government). [B]“The Kurds thought this could be their moment, that the rise of IS [ISIL] would be a historic moment for Kurdish independence,” said Tol. “There was this idea that the Kurds could be the best alternative to IS [ISIL] because they’re secular and pro-Western.”[/B][/quote] [url]http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/1/23/kurds-angered-by-anti-isil-conference-snub.html[/url]
Well that's stupid.
Kurdistan for independence.
I don't understand this. The Kurds are fighting these terrorists ON THE GROUND. They deserve their damn recognition. Hell, they deserve to be recognized as Kurdistan for their bravery and effort.
[QUOTE=joshuadim;47004995]I don't understand this. The Kurds are fighting these terrorists ON THE GROUND. They deserve their damn recognition. Hell, they deserve to be recognized as Kurdistan for their bravery and effort.[/QUOTE] Choosing to recognize Kurdistan would piss of a whole lot of counties which might just land us with another situation similar to what happened with the Arab–Israeli conflict. [editline]24th January 2015[/editline] Right now I think the West is just trying to address the present issue before opening up a potentially new one.
I really dont understand why they cant just get some slack. the Kurds are hard workers and should probably have earned a piece of land by now, or at least some recognition.. At least in my opinion.
They aren't a country that's why. They weren't snubbed.
[QUOTE=wystan;47005227]They aren't a country that's why. They weren't snubbed.[/QUOTE] they're still an important faction though, and whatever is discussed is highly relevant to them
[QUOTE=cdr248;47005192]Choosing to recognize Kurdistan would piss of a whole lot of counties which might just land us with another situation similar to what happened with the Arab–Israeli conflict. [editline]24th January 2015[/editline] Right now I think the West is just trying to address the present issue before opening up a potentially new one.[/QUOTE] Fuck them. Kurdistan should have been a separate country to begin with; it's only divided up amongst Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey because of British imperialism. At the very least, Iraqi Kurdistan has proven to be a better government than Iraq itself, and should be free to separate. Syrian Kurdistan is in the same shape - they're holding together at least as well as any other faction in the fight. It might piss off Iran, but I doubt America gives a shit about that (I don't know why there's so much beef between our two countries, but there is). And it'll piss off Turkey, but they're being dicks to their Kurds anyway so fuck them.
[QUOTE=wystan;47005227]They aren't a country that's why. They weren't snubbed.[/QUOTE] They have all the material and rights to do just that; and they're pretty much the only integrated force getting wins in either country.
Also, their capital is pretty amazing. I wouldn't mind traveling there one day. [IMG]http://www.thetravelcamel.com/wp-content/uploads/DSC_1293-1024x680.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=gman003-main;47005659]Fuck them. Kurdistan should have been a separate country to begin with; it's only divided up amongst Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey because of British imperialism. At the very least, Iraqi Kurdistan has proven to be a better government than Iraq itself, and should be free to separate. Syrian Kurdistan is in the same shape - they're holding together at least as well as any other faction in the fight. It might piss off Iran, but I doubt America gives a shit about that (I don't know why there's so much beef between our two countries, but there is). And it'll piss off Turkey, but they're being dicks to their Kurds anyway so fuck them.[/QUOTE] Israel all over again
Fuck it, recognize them. If the rest of the Middle East had their way, they would occupy and destroy our best chance for a modern and stable Islamic nation.
[QUOTE=gman003-main;47005659] It might piss off Iran, but I doubt America gives a shit about that (I don't know why there's so much beef between our two countries, but there is).[/QUOTE] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat[/url] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655[/url] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_State_of_the_Union_Address#Axis_of_evil[/url] Fuck it. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–United_States_relations[/url]
[QUOTE=gman003-main;47005659]Fuck them. Kurdistan should have been a separate country to begin with; it's only divided up amongst Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey because of British imperialism. At the very least, Iraqi Kurdistan has proven to be a better government than Iraq itself, and should be free to separate. Syrian Kurdistan is in the same shape - they're holding together at least as well as any other faction in the fight. It might piss off Iran, but I doubt America gives a shit about that (I don't know why there's so much beef between our two countries, but there is). And it'll piss off Turkey, but they're being dicks to their Kurds anyway so fuck them.[/QUOTE] That'd work if we lived in a fantasy world and the right thing to do was the good thing, but recognizing Kurdistan right now would just cause too many problems.
[QUOTE=OrDnAs;47005757]Israel all over again[/QUOTE] It would be comparable to Israel if back then, before Israel was a thing, future Israeli people actively wrenched the land they were going to live on out of Hitler's hands as he was massacring them.
[QUOTE=gman003-main;47005659]Fuck them. Kurdistan should have been a separate country to begin with; it's only divided up amongst Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey because of British imperialism. At the very least, Iraqi Kurdistan has proven to be a better government than Iraq itself, and should be free to separate. Syrian Kurdistan is in the same shape - they're holding together at least as well as any other faction in the fight. It might piss off Iran, but I doubt America gives a shit about that (I don't know why there's so much beef between our two countries, but there is). And it'll piss off Turkey, but they're being dicks to their Kurds anyway so fuck them.[/QUOTE] Yep, let's piss off Turkey, our largest ally in the region, Iraq, the country we've been trying to prove over the last decade and a half that we're biggest butt-buddies with, Syria, a literal warzone for three years going and diplomatically supported by Russia and China, and then Iran, all at once. Furthermore, let's carve out a chunk of dirt and assign it to an ethnic group based largely on our perception of who the dirt should belong to. An ethnic group that is largely hated across the board by all it's neighbors. Oh, and here's the kicker: Let's make it land-locked. I agree with the sentiment that Kurdistan should be a thing and the Kurds deserve their own country, but it's too late by now. It ain't gonna happen, sadly. And if it does, we're gonna have Israel 2.0: Kurdish Boogaloo.
[QUOTE][B]Leaders from 21 countries[/B][/QUOTE] Last time i checked kurdistan wasn't a country.
[QUOTE=aydin690;47006077]Last time i checked kurdistan wasn't a country.[/QUOTE] They still could've been invited though?
[QUOTE=aydin690;47006077]Last time i checked kurdistan wasn't a country.[/QUOTE] But it is a nation of people. One of which that is autonomous and independent in all but name in some aspects.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;47006171]But it is a nation of people. One of which that is autonomous and independent in all but name in some aspects.[/QUOTE] It's still not a country. Iraq was invited.
This is a huge shame, way to enforce the idea that we don't give a fuck about anyone in that region. They're giving their lives in the fight against ISIS and we don't even have the common courtesy to ask their opinion on the whole ordeal.
It's like the Assyrians all over again
It's sad that we're still having to base nationhood on ethnicity but there seems to be no other realistic option for the Kurds.
[QUOTE=gman003-main;47005659]Fuck them. Kurdistan should have been a separate country to begin with; it's only divided up amongst Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey because of British imperialism.[/QUOTE] The only part of Kurdistan the British had control over was within the British protectorate the LON drew the borders to after the Turkish Empire died, and if Britain had just made that tiny bit of Kurdistan independent after the mandate Turkey would have just invaded it
After all the work the Kurds did I would be disgusted if they aren't allowed to form Kurdistan.
[QUOTE=Riller;47006061]Yep, let's piss off Turkey, our largest ally in the region, Iraq, the country we've been trying to prove over the last decade and a half that we're biggest butt-buddies with, Syria, a literal warzone for three years going and diplomatically supported by Russia and China, and then Iran, all at once. Furthermore, let's carve out a chunk of dirt and assign it to an ethnic group based largely on our perception of who the dirt should belong to. An ethnic group that is largely hated across the board by all it's neighbors. Oh, and here's the kicker: Let's make it land-locked. I agree with the sentiment that Kurdistan should be a thing and the Kurds deserve their own country, but it's too late by now. It ain't gonna happen, sadly. And if it does, we're gonna have Israel 2.0: Kurdish Boogaloo.[/QUOTE] Cool. So we can just look at the Kurds again and shrug to them as their enemies exterminate them again. Maybe they'll finish the job this time. We can only hope. I mean, think of the diplomatic kerfuffle it might cause if they had their own nation. That was meant with sarcasm strong enough to strip paint, by the way.
Country or not, they've done A LOT and lost even more to fight ISIS, they deserve some proper recognition. Fuck this black and white countries only nonsense.
[QUOTE=Grimhound;47007056]Cool. So we can just look at the Kurds again and shrug to them as their enemies exterminate them again. Maybe they'll finish the job this time. We can only hope. I mean, think of the diplomatic kerfuffle it might cause if they had their own nation. That was meant with sarcasm strong enough to strip paint, by the way.[/QUOTE] Nobody's really doing anything to the kurds any more now Saddam is gone. I mean Turkey's still a massive dick, but it's a very passive massive dick. Now, if Kurdistan was a country on it's own, some war with one of its neighbors wouldn't be unlikely.
[QUOTE=aydin690;47006259]It's still not a country. Iraq was invited.[/QUOTE] I assume that exceptions could still be made.
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