Obama's Betrayal of the Kurds

The Kurdish militias (YPG,PKK) have been the pro-western vanguard in the fight against ISIS in Syria. In a crowd of Islamic extremists and despotic rulers, the Kurds have been the only consistent, morally sound, effective ground troop against the scourge that is the Islamic State.

 “I think the only way this battle is won, ultimately, is with troops on the ground, but they need to be Arab troops. The Kurds are the best fighters over there, [and] I think we really need to incorporate them,” said Sen. Rand Paul on a recent appearance on the Fox Newsroom.

 If the military prowess and moral integrity of these people have both been painfully proven since their defence against ISIS started, why is a member of NATO launching vicious, indiscriminate,unceasing attacks on them?

Fearing that the positive public image of the Kurds and their recent territorial gains against ISIS could give rise to a Syrian Kurdish state ( already locally known as Rojava), Turkey granted the United States access to their Incirlik Air Base and agreed to bomb ISIS positions in exchange for the Obama administration stabbing our best ally in the war against ISIS in the back.

The fully biased American media has characterized this agreement as a triumph of diplomacy that will greatly help in the fight against ISIS. The true story, though mostly untold, is of Obama’s callous indifference when it comes to betraying friends and allies. 

Since the agreement between Obama and Turkey – to the surprise of no one who has ever given the briefest pause to review the situation between the Syrian Kurds and Turkey – 159 air attacks have been launched on Kurdish positions and zero on ISIS Targets. Turkey has launched a full scale assault on the only successful ground force against ISIS in Syria; the deplorable Islamic State appears to be an afterthought to Turkey.

 “A decades-old conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish PKK has been reignited. Turkey vowed Saturday to continue attacks against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), along with strikes against the Islamic State group.” The operations will continue for as long as threats against Turkey continue,” said Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

 Friday President Tayyip Erdogan said the PKK would be the “main focus of attacks.”  

The reason for Turkey’s indifference to ISIS is simple. According  to a 2014 buzzfeed article, after ISIS drills oil inside Syria, middlemen deliver the product to the Syrian/Turkey border where it is pumped into pipes and buried underground. At the end of the pipes, the traders in the Turkish town of Besaslan await the inexpensive oil.

Men buy the oil from the lot and deliver it to local Turkish businessmen, who sell it secretly to gas stations or set up illegal filling stops. 

“Turkey paved the way for us. Had Turkey not shown such understanding for us, the Islamic State would not be in its current place. It [Turkey] showed us affection. Large [numbers] of our mujahedeen received medical treatment in Turkey,” said an unidentified ISIS oil dealer.

Given the amount of oil and Jihadists that easily pass through the selectively porous Turkish border, no one should be surprised that Turkey is now taking on the chief ground enemy of the Islamic State. 

For Obama to support such an atrocity –  and to the point of gloating over the Turkish deal –  proves he does not deserve the title of president.  The Kurds, the only pro- western, pro-democratic ground force in the region, have just been betrayed in the most disgusting of ways – for an airfield.  This is a sad day in American history.