Today, the narrative is Kurdish liberation!
The Kurds are a proud people, an upright people, long oppressed and persecuted as an indigenous minority, denied a homeland. Yes, this is all true. But is the current initiative to arm and support them in their long struggle for a sovereign country–is this sincere, and is it viable? And is it the best path forward?
Here is my take.
If the US and the West were so committed to the cause of a Kurdish state, then wouldn’t it make most sense to draft and bring forth a bill proposing this in the UN Security Council? Does anybody doubt that, if this Administration possessed the political will, along with such supposed benevolent powers as Israel and Europe, does anybody doubt that this could be accomplished, without further bloodshed? Of course it is possible. And, of course this is preferable to a deadly and destructive protracted guerilla war.
Second, is it viable? I argue no! If an entire US special company was captured by the Iranian military, and if it can so easily light up heavily fortified targets in places like Tel Aviv, Bahrain, and Iraq, then surely the Kurds stand no chance in the face of all out direct war with Iran. Of course, they would enjoy a tactical advantage with US and Israeli air superiority, but that is a slim advantage given the technological capability and sheer size of Iran’s missile and attack drone arsenal. Such a war, where US and Israeli Air and Naval forces exert full throttle in their offensive, providing cover to the Kurds. Yes, this could be viable, potentially. But surely it would be a bloody and costly strategy once executed, both in terms of lives, on all sides; and, for Empires subjects, in terms of dollars and cents.
To the last point, is it genuine? In other words, is this an act of benevolence born out of conviction, on the part of Trump and his cabinet and cronies, of The West as a whole? And anybody who knows the history of this country, specifically with respect to the Kurds, and to any minority ethnic group whom it has propped up at one point or another, for selfish interest, to advance its agenda against one of the many self-made enemies of the day, knows that this Washington and Bibi are not sincere. It is easy to place the onus of responsibility, and it is convenient to be able to pass-off responsibility, onto another group. If it succeeds, then the Kurds may get a concession, a country at last. But this country’s independence would be contingent on the perpetual nod of Washington and Tel Aviv. In other words, it could only ever be a client state. For example, an Islamic government, for a Muslim people, would never be tolerated. A centralized economy, for example, would never be tolerated. Tariffs, for example, would never be tolerated. Is that freedom?
Speak Truth2Power!