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Thread: Syrian Kurds Request Half of U.S. Troops Stay

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    Syrian Kurds Request Half of U.S. Troops Stay

    Mazloum Kobani, the commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces that have been successfully defeating the Islamic State on our behalf for years now, has recently formally requested that somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 international troops (the vast majority of which are American) remain in Syria to help finish off ISIS. "We would like to have air cover, air support, and a force on the ground to coordinate with us", he told reporters, adding that while some of this international support can come from French and British forces and that he understands the desire of the U.S. government pull its 2,000-ish troops, he stressed that at least some "American forces must remain beside us" and expressed optimism that the White House would do so. It may be wishful thinking though, as U.S. Army General Joseph Votel, head of Central Command, told reporters that "We certainly understand what they would like us to do, but of course that's not the path we’re on at this particular point."

    Kobani in particular stressed the threat of a "new genocide" of Kurdish forces by Turkey should the U.S. pull out entirely at this time. There's no question that the Kurdish forces will have to strike a military alliance with Assad's government to avoid being destroyed by Turkey if we withdraw all of our forces in the immediate future. Assad opportunistically stoked those fears on Sunday, warning that the U.S. wouldn't protect those depending on us. "We're trying to preserve the current situation", Kobani told reporters. They need a willing partner in us for that to happen.

    Don't do this (again), America. Don't sell these people out for convenience yet again. Just don't. That is all.
    Last edited by IMPress Polly; 02-20-2019 at 07:32 AM.

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    Syria is a sovereign country run by Assad. Not the Kurds. With that said, the US can provide air support from Iraq and Turkey. Also special operations forces can do what they do in over a hundred of countries today.

    I would remove conventional forces unless Assad requested assistance.
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    The significant thing here is that you describe Assad's regime as still being the legitimate government of Syria. That's precisely what's been in dispute now for most of this decade.

    The position of the Kurds is that they need to finish off ISIS and then reach a negotiated political agreement with Assad. They don't want to have to strike a military alliance with his government. I think it's clear that they don't trust Assad as much as they do their current allies.

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    Quote Originally Posted by IMPress Polly View Post
    The significant thing here is that you describe Assad's regime as still being the legitimate government of Syria. That's precisely what's been in dispute now for most of this decade.

    The position of the Kurds is that they need to finish off ISIS and then reach a negotiated political agreement with Assad. They don't want to have to strike a military alliance with his government. I think it's clear that they don't trust Assad as much as they do their current allies.
    Assad sent troops to block Turkey from attacking these Kurds.

    Also, Assad won the civil war. It is no longer disputed that his government is in charge.
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    Peter wrote:
    Assad sent troops to block Turkey from attacking these Kurds.

    Also, Assad won the civil war. It is no longer disputed that his government is in charge.
    If he had indeed "won" already, there wouldn't be any SDF territory, would there?

    One thing is clear: they cannot defeat Assad's government and aren't going to try. But that is why they aim to negotiate a diplomatic solution in the end, which may well leave the country divided militarily. It may be optimistic thinking though, considering how all the negotiations that other forces have done with Assad to date have worked out for them and you know what I mean.

    I mean honestly, I think sooner or later somebody is going to just drown the Kurds and their allies in blood. It could be Turkey. It could be Assad's police state. It could even be a resurgent ISIS another year or two down the road, who knows? But somebody probably will. That's how anarchist revolutions tend to end. They usually come into being in a civil war context and just get drowned in blood as soon as that war starts to wrap up. It goes to show that anarchists kind of depend on the distraction of hostile forces to survive. It just doesn't seem like a lasting revolution of that sort can generally survive militarily because there are just too many hostile forces out there. So I don't hold out a lot of hope here. I just find this reality depressing.

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    Statehood for the Kurds is pretty much off the table. There have only been minor skirmishes between Assad's forces and the Kurds since the Civil War started. Prior to that Assad protected the Kurds as he protected Christians and other minorities.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    Statehood for the Kurds is pretty much off the table. There have only been minor skirmishes between Assad's forces and the Kurds since the Civil War started. Prior to that Assad protected the Kurds as he protected Christians and other minorities.
    Even in a "good" halfway plausible scenario where they're not just wiped out, "protection" means the end of their regional autonomy, and therefore of their ongoing communalist reorganization of society and it will be just another one ended.

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    Quote Originally Posted by IMPress Polly View Post
    Even in a "good" halfway plausible scenario where they're not just wiped out, "protection" means the end of their regional autonomy, and therefore of their ongoing communalist reorganization of society and it will be just another one ended.
    I could see Assad giving them some autonomy to manage their affairs in Northern Syria.

    The Kurds' primary threats are from Turkey and Iran, not Syria.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    I could see Assad giving them some autonomy to manage their affairs in Northern Syria.

    The Kurds' primary threats are from Turkey and Iran, not Syria.
    The logical problem there is that the Iranian-aligned forces are currently fighting as part of Assad's alliance. Can Assad pull together a regime-Iranian-Kurdish alliance, or must he, at the end of the day, choose between these forces?

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    Quote Originally Posted by IMPress Polly View Post
    The significant thing here is that you describe Assad's regime as still being the legitimate government of Syria. That's precisely what's been in dispute now for most of this decade.

    The position of the Kurds is that they need to finish off ISIS and then reach a negotiated political agreement with Assad. They don't want to have to strike a military alliance with his government. I think it's clear that they don't trust Assad as much as they do their current allies.
    Assad is the legitimate leader of Syria. No one has withdrawn recognition.

    The position of the Kurds is to have an independent nation. It is why they fought.
    Liberals are a clear and present danger to our nation
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