Kurds Betrayal

[Captdon]

Kurds Betrayal

This article was published prior to the announcement of a ceasefire by Turkey. However the points that it makes are good. Did the US "betray" the Kurds? Yes, but so what. States act in their vital interests, not the vital interests of others.
The Islam State was an existential threat to the Kurds, but not to the US. They should thank us for helping out against IS. But they have no reasonable expectation that the US is going to fight a border war for them in an issue that has nothing to do with US vital interests.


Read the rest of the article at the link.

I stopped reading at ISIS wasn't an existential threat to us. What the hell do you think they were going to do? Invite us a to a party. You are dead wrong.

We stabbed the Kurds in the back.

[Peter1469]

I stopped reading at ISIS wasn't an existential threat to us. What the hell do you think they were going to do? Invite us a to a party. You are dead wrong.

We stabbed the Kurds in the back.

First, tell me what you believe existential threat means.

Second, about stabbing the Kurds in the back: I reject that. We never told the Kurds that we support them creating a State. Our alliance with the Kurds was limited to ISIL and the Islamic State. Had we not assisted the Kurds in that fight, they would likely have been destroyed. They owe us. Not the other way around.

[Tahuyaman]

...The Islam State was an existential threat to the Kurds, but not to the US...

Correct. The United States faces no national security threat from ISIS.

[Old Trapper]

That would be nice, but it is not a vital interest. And like I said the US helping the Kurds fight the Islamic State benefited them much more than it did the US.

Not when you have a POS like trump in charge. 11,000 of theirs dead, 59 of ours. What did the Kurds gain? What did they lose? What would have happened if they had not fought?

[Old Trapper]

First, tell me what you believe existential threat means.

Relating to the existence of. If they are not a threat then why the hell have we been fighting them for 20 years?

Second, about stabbing the Kurds in the back: I reject that. We never told the Kurds that we support them creating a State. Our alliance with the Kurds was limited to ISIL and the Islamic State. Had we not assisted the Kurds in that fight, they would likely have been destroyed. They owe us. Not the other way around.

Trump "promised" to protect them, and he lied. That casts a shadow over the country as a whole. However, it is not the first time we have betrayed the Kurds:

https://theintercept.com/2019/10/07/...rump-betrayal/

[Rationalist]

Not when you have a POS like trump in charge. 11,000 of theirs dead, 59 of ours. What did the Kurds gain? What did they lose? What would have happened if they had not fought?

You do realize that ISIS had started fighting Kurds before we got involved in the conflict, right? Kurds have been a target of a lot of governments and various extremist groups, since they are an ethnic minority that isn't particularly liked by most of their neighbors.

We sided with the Kurds in Iraq, because we could depend on them more than most other people in the area, and they were well organized in terms of military force.

We continued that alliance in Syria, but the Kurds are somewhat self-sufficient. They've existed among much stronger powers in the region for centuries, so it's not like our withdrawal means their demise. There's no reason to think they won't be around for another several centuries, and communities like Rojava are independent enough to handle relations on their own terms.

Letting Assad make amends with them isn't a bad thing, and it might actually result in better rights for them in the long term.

[Rationalist]

First, tell me what you believe existential threat means.

Second, about stabbing the Kurds in the back: I reject that. We never told the Kurds that we support them creating a State. Our alliance with the Kurds was limited to ISIL and the Islamic State. Had we not assisted the Kurds in that fight, they would likely have been destroyed. They owe us. Not the other way around.

I agree with the general spirit of this post, but I wouldn't say that ISIS would have destroyed them without us. They would have certainly lost more people without our help, but the Kurds have survived a lot of purges and offensives. This is part of why they are well organized militarily. They're used to fighting for survival.

[Rationalist]

However, it is not the first time we have betrayed the Kurds:

https://theintercept.com/2019/10/07/...rump-betrayal/

It's a similar situation to the Palestinians. They are a perfect group of pawns for Islamic powers to use against Israel. Most of the countries that manipulate the Palestinians don't particularly care about their long term fate or living conditions, but as long as the Palestinians are stuck in their current situation, they are easily directed toward extremist acts.

[Peter1469]

Not when you have a POS like trump in charge. 11,000 of theirs dead, 59 of ours. What did the Kurds gain? What did they lose? What would have happened if they had not fought?

They would have been slaughtered. Wake up from your TDS.

[Peter1469]

Relating to the existence of. If they are not a threat then why the hell have we been fighting them for 20 years?

We have been wasting time most of those 20 years. Wake up.

Trump "promised" to protect them, and he lied. That casts a shadow over the country as a whole. However, it is not the first time we have betrayed the Kurds:

https://theintercept.com/2019/10/07/...rump-betrayal/

We were protecting them from ISIL. We never promised them their own State nor to get involved in a border dispute. Wake up.