By Dr. Robert Sklaroff and Dr. Sherkoh Abbas
Shakespeare’s “King Lear” paid dearly after he mistakenly willed his estate to two daughters due to their voiced sycophancy, forsaking his youngest daughter who truly adored him. Similarly, Obama’s America is cow-towing to the whims of Iran and Turkey, rather than directly helping the Peshmerga in Kurdistan. The desired boots-on-ground are directly underfoot, yet he refuses to acknowledge the urgent need to assist the Kurds; instead, he keeps “tripping” over their presence.
Obama’s apologists alternately aver the situation is hyper-complex and freedom-seekers are ultimately doomed. To the contrary, the key-players reveal their motives through their actions (even if utterances are occasionally cryptic) and the pathway to a quality outcome is readily apparent (even if Obama would have to ‘fess-up regarding the existential threat of the global Islamist ideology). Because the goals of contiguous countries are averse to those beneficial to America, Kurds must urgently be empowered to champion Western Civilization’s value-system, to perpetuate the Judeo-Christian Ethic that has underpinned American Exceptionalism for centuries.
Iran wants to preserve the Assad government, and has avidly shored-up these state-terrorists with the loyal assistance of the Russians who covet the Tartus port; Tehran wants to forge a Shi’ite pathway to the Mediterranean, and has enlisted support in this endeavor from a Baghdad government that has been set adrift by America’s unilateral retreat. Failure to leave a robust residual force was arguably the most dramatic and damaging unforced error in the post-World War II era, for doubters need only be reminded of the continued existence of South Korea, more than a half-century following the cessation of major hostilities, the “Forgotten War.”
American policy is predicated on a double-blunder—“two sides of the same coin”—one component of which is widely-debated and the other component of which has remained shrouded. The former challenge is Obama’s decision to forbid providing major armaments to the Kurds, instead channeling everything except relief supplies and small arms through Baghdad; it may be necessary to involve NATO formally in this endeavor, if only to break this logjam. The latter challenge is Obama’s decision to back the Free Syrian Army {“FSA”}, which is led by a former Brigadier General in Assad’s army who harbors loyalties that undermine his ability to serve as America’s proxy; empowering the Kurds would permit them to vet regional militias to ensure American matériel is not diverted to Islamists.
Rectifying both errors would proclaim commitment to long-delayed independence of a Kurdistan comprising a federation of lands currently within the borders of Iraq and Syria…but not Turkey or Iran (where millions also reside). Neither country should object to the elimination of domestic insurrection aimed at their territories…unless, of course, their covert aim is the annihilation of the Kurdish upstarts.
{We previously detailed the underlying loyalties of the alphabet-soup of Kurdish entities: “America Must Recognize Kurdistan” [Jewish Policy Center]; “NATO Must Help the Kurds Now” [National Review]; and NATO must arm the Kurds, but only the pro-American Kurds [The Hill]. Kurds yearn for independence; alternatively, they fight for federation with stable, neighboring, non-threatening governments (invoking the paradigm of how Baghdad and Erbil developed a successful modus vivendi during the past decade).}
The FSA is led by Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir al-Noeimi, who disseminated views that are indubitably anti-Kurd and anti-Israel in the following posting. Translated from Arabic, it states: “PYD/YPG are terrorists; we work only with honorable Kurds. In our eyes, we have three types of Kurds: 1)—Israel and Zionist Kurds; 2)—PKK/YPG terrorists, and 3)—Kurds who are first Muslim and Second Syrian who deserve no rights, period.” Obviously, he cannot be trusted.
As Erdo?an pursues his neo-Ottoman dream of a restored caliphate, he ignores pleas of Abdullah Öcalan—the founder and leader of the PKK, who languishes in a Turkish jail despite a highly-touted rapprochement—that Turkey intervene in Kobanê. Meanwhile, Iran is busily co-opting nations, collecting client-states: Iraq (filling the vacuum left by America’s departure), Syria (led by Bashir Assad, a fellow-Shi’ite), Lebanon (dominated by Iran’s offspring, Hezbollah, and greatly influenced by Syria), Gaza (which has become increasingly dependent upon Iranian armaments), Yemen (where its forces in Sana’a are emerging victorious), and Libya (which has just concluded a national-reconciliation pact endorsed by Algeria and supported, in-turn, by Iran).
Kurds, Yazidis, Christians and other ethnic minorities face extermination…in Kobanê, on Mount Sinjar, throughout Syria and Iraq. That American air-drops were acquired by the Islamic State is symptomatic of fragmentation that would be minimized if all were coordinated by the Kurdish National Council of Syria, which is aligned with the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria.
King Lear tragically erred, before descending into madness; Obama has no such excuse blocking him from aiding primarily the Peshmerga in multiple arenas (humanitarian, diplomacy, publicity/media, training, and military). Hanging in the balance is survival of a culture spanning three millennia…plus America’s credibility and interests.
— Robert Sklaroff is a physician-activist and supporter of Kurdish self-determination.? Sherkoh Abbas is the chairman of the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria.
Regardless of the West, the Kurds need to fight for their rights. It is going to be painful and bloody but they will find allies and a country, their country. This may stabilize the whole area.