• US to arm Kurds in battle for Raqqa
    15 replies, posted
[QUOTE]US President Donald Trump has approved supplying weapons to Kurdish forces fighting so-called Islamic State (IS) in Syria, the Pentagon says. Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) would be equipped to help drive IS from its stronghold, Raqqa, a spokeswoman said. The US was "keenly aware" of Turkey's concerns about such a move, she added.[/QUOTE] [url]www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39864950[/url]
Gee Billy can't wait for these to fall into the wrong hands again!
Honestly, I wouldn't mind my government giving the Kurds the ability to manufacture their own weapons. Part of me knows they'll get their hands on the anti-tank RPG that's being used by ISIS in Mosul, and they'll more then likely improve on it. [media]https://twitter.com/oryxspioenkop/status/847887381978066944[/media] But more realistically, Kurdistan needs to build up it's own arms industry which will allow it to be self-sufficient. They need to go full Khyber Pass mode if they have any intent on protecting themselves, and their independence, from the Turkish jihadi horde to the north.
Hell yeah, fuck you Erdogan. Bijî Rojava!
Yea, because giving weapons to radical terrorist groups has worked SO WELL in the past... :thinking:
[QUOTE=Komodoh;52208467]Yea, because giving weapons to radical terrorist groups has worked SO WELL in the past... :thinking:[/QUOTE] These are YPG not PKK kurds
[QUOTE=Komodoh;52208467]Yea, because giving weapons to radical terrorist groups has worked SO WELL in the past... :thinking:[/QUOTE] SDF-YPG aren't a terrorist group. They've been fighting and taking more land from ISIS than any military power in Syria. They're also actually installing direct democracies and stabilizing + rebuilding cities.
[QUOTE=-nesto-;52208477]These are YPG not PKK kurds[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=nulls;52208483]SDF-YPG aren't a terrorist group. They've been fighting and taking more land from ISIS than any military power in Syria. They're also actually installing direct democracies and stabilizing + rebuilding cities.[/QUOTE] Both the YPG and the PKK fight for the same group, the Democratic Federal System of Northern Syria. Those weapons will be going to both groups in the end. But that's not the point. We helped plenty of middle eastern groups that we see as "moderates" and looked how that turned out. My favorite, newspaper from 1993. [IMG]https://puu.sh/vLh6q/073af3b84b.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=Komodoh;52208504] [IMG]https://puu.sh/vLh6q/073af3b84b.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] Well, to start off you're comparing an islamic based group that violated human rights and slaughtered civilians to a secular militia that defends a group working to stabalize their region and install democracy. Second, PKK is a Kurdish group in Turkey that supports Rojava, but is not affiliated with the YPG/SDF. At best they may have been loosely connected in the past.
I hope the kurds use those against the terrorist country, Turkey.
[QUOTE=nulls;52208526]Well, to start off you're comparing an islamic based group that violated human rights and slaughtered civilians to a secular militia that defends a group working to stabalize their region and install democracy. Second, PKK is a Kurdish group in Turkey that supports Rojava, but is not affiliated with the YPG/SDF. At best they may have been loosely connected in the past.[/QUOTE] The PKK has been helping the Kurds in Syria and Iraq. That's just a fact. [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdistan_Workers%27_Party#2014_action_against_Islamic_State_and_renewed_tensions_in_Turkey[/url] Both the PKK and the YPG are fighting for the same goal, a free Kurdistan(or whatever name you want to give it). If you think that either party won't help the other you're incredibly naive.
My memory is fuzzy and may be wrong, but wasn't one of Trump's campaign promises specifically to stop giving weapons away in Syria like this as he criticized Obama for doing so?
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;52208760]My memory is fuzzy and may be wrong, but wasn't one of Trump's campaign promises specifically to stop giving weapons away in Syria like this as he criticized Obama for doing so?[/QUOTE] To Al-Qaeda and Syrian Rebels. Kurds aren't Syrian Rebels and have US Forces and Russian forces embedded within their ranks. That and they actively resist a lot of the Salafism in the region, they got that going for them.
We have no choice but to support the Kurds. Kurdistan is the only option for NATO to have a strong ally in the Middle East. If they become a successful state, they will be a good friend of the country that helped create them. What's the alternative? Let Turkey and Syria commit genocide against Kurdistan [i]again[/i] and then ignore the Middle East while it destroys itself? Or carry on bombing every side - what could go wrong? (See: Afghanistan, 2001)
[QUOTE=Jon27;52210302]We have no choice but to support the Kurds. Kurdistan is the only option for NATO to have a strong ally in the Middle East. If they become a successful state, they will be a good friend of the country that helped create them. What's the alternative? Let Turkey and Syria commit genocide against Kurdistan [i]again[/i] and then ignore the Middle East while it destroys itself? Or carry on bombing every side - what could go wrong? (See: Afghanistan, 2001)[/QUOTE] That's a lot to rely on, a current non-existing state hoping to work out entirely in NATO favor after it's created though.
A non-existing state has been working more in favor of NATO than Turkey throughout this whole conflict. Although, that says more about the latter than it does the former. Regardless no matter which path we choose this region is fucked, we risk allowing a now secular nation slowly converting to a Islamic nation remaining in NATO while it works against us but risk throwing them into the arms of Russia or China if we confront them or prop up the Kurds.
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