Muddying the waters. The Obama Administration apparently threw the Kurds under bus in order to induce the Turks to do something — anything — against the Islamic State. And so yet again Obama antagonizes an ally in service of an entity that is far less likely to be pro-American.
“White House says Turkey has right to defend itself after Kurdish attacks,” FoxNews.com, July 26, 2015:
The White House said late Saturday Turkey has the right to defend itself against terror attacks by Kurdish rebels, after bombing Kurds in northern Iraq.
For months, Turkey had been reluctant to join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State terror group despite gain made by the group on Turkey’s doorstep. Now, Turkish warplanes are directly striking ISIS locations, which started Saturday in Syria and continued with a bombing run against Kurds in northern Iraq.
The strikes against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, muddle the U.S.-led right against ISIS. The U.S. has relied on Syrian Kurds affiliated with the PKK to carry out attacks against ISIS militants.
National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks by the PKK, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist group, and said the PKK should renounce terrorism and resume talks with Ankara.
“We urge de-escalation by both sides and encourage everyone to remain committed to the peaceful ‘solution process’ to bring about a just and sustainable peace for all Turkish citizens,” said Pentagon spokesman Maj. James Brindle.
Turkish jets hit shelters and storage facilities belonging to the PKK in seven areas in northern Iraq, including Mount Quandil where the group’s headquarters are located, authorities said. It was Turkey’s first aerial raid in northern Iraq against the PKK since Turkey brokered peace talks with the Kurds in 2012. The PKK declared a cease-fire in 2013….
Stephanie says
Are not defendign the BRAVE kurds against ISIS the Iraqi city kobane?
Shame on erdoghan & obama.
Stephanie says
“… Iraqi = Syrian city Kobane?”
Shane says
Oh well, it is not all bad. At least Muslims are killing other Muslims instead of Christians and other religious groups of people.
mike says
actually most of the kurds are christian or catholic
Emre says
Mike, most (by a huge majority) of the Kurds are adherents of the shafi branch of sunni islam. You will hardly find any kurds who are non-muslim, apart from very small groups like the yazidis.
You are probably mixing them up with ethnic groups like the assyrians.
jewdog says
We support the Turks against ISIS and the Kurds, who are also against ISIS. We support the Iranian-allied Iraqi government against ISIS, but we support the Saudis in Yemen against Iranian proxies. It’s like a Rube Goldberg contraption, except it won’t even crack a nut at the end.
cs says
Good comparison, it so screwed up, it is difficult to make sense.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
The ultimate Rube Goldberg machine was invented by none other than the Holy Prophet. Islam is a self-propelling contraption that has never run out of steam or direction in 1,400 years, and indeed is now picking up steam fast. The direction part of the design was easy for the Holy Prophet, Islam seeks to grow and is growing in all four directions.
jewdog says
Exactly. But Islam is growing in an out-of-control, chaotic way, sort of like Obama’s foreign policy, or cancer.
Johnd says
Yeh, a perpetual motion machine achievable by calling Satan by the name Allah.
Angemon says
Called it.
Yellowdog says
Why doesn’t the U.S. just stay out of it? Muddle is the right word. They antagonize everyone with their intervention. There are so many forces against ISIS, ISIS neighbors should just take them out any and all ways they see fit, It doesn’t matter if they are friends or enemies of the U.S. and those countries don’t need permission or proclamations by the U.S. The greatest enemy of all is ISIS and the ISIS Caliphate should be stopped and destroyed by the people and countries that are in that region and that speak that language and really understand what is going on.
mortimer says
UNCONSCIONABLE!
Genocide is a crime against humanity. Turkey is committing genocide against the Kurds.
The United States CANNOT support genocide!
Obama’s foreign policy has become GENOCIDE against the Kurds!
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
Turkey is committing genocide against the Kurds.
Remember what they did to the Armenians back during World War I. They’ve had practice at this.
somehistory says
By not condemning genocide against Christians in various parts of Planet Earth by muslims, he has been supporting it. The one time there was clear opportunity to condemn it, he tried to equate what muslims are doing all over the globe with Christians defending themselves during the Crusades, making it just hunky dory for the muslim hordes to continue the slaughter.
Since his *best friend* is head of Turkey, it is not surprising that he is giving the big *ok* sign for the genocide of the Kurds, even if they are also muslim in majority. The Kurds want a place of their own, and this just can’t happen if it is not the desire of his best friend.
And re: APF’s comment, o didn’t have anything to say in response to that atrocity when the anniversary came up recently. (if he did, I missed it).
Charli Main says
The Kurds have been slowly gaining ground against the monstrous Islamic State, so Abdulla Obama has been forced to rush to the aid of his ultra muslim buddies by giving the Turks permission to destroy the Kurds.
Falsafa says
For those non anti muslims who are innocently reading these blogs, please do not pay attention to these bigoted spencer fans…such as the gentleman above c. main – the Turkish state is not attackng Kurds, they are attacking Kurdish PKK Terrorists that have recently escalated violence in Turkey. The PKK are recognized by US and Europe as a Terrorist organization since this marxist group resorted to terrorism 30 years ago…
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
Racism is part of Prez Barack Hussein’s motive here. The half of his genetic makeup that is African responds negatively to the fact that the Kurds are vestigial Caucasians still left from the pre-Turkic days in the region. Their bloodline goes all the way back to the day when Asia Minor was a largely a Caucasian operation with some Persian blood thrown in for spice. Also, Prez Hussein doesn’t like that the PKK is a Marxist outfit that preaches atheism, an affront to him as a fake Christian who prayed to Allah in the madrasas playground while growing up in Jakarta, capital of the world’s most populous Moslem nation. Further darkening things for him, if you will, is that his consigliere Valerie Jarrett is a Persian, which means she absolutely hates Kurds.
Brian says
Obama is a closet Muslim…he NEVER renounced Islam in favour of Christianity and all his actions and words support he is STILL a Muslim. How he got to office is a scandal!
nicu says
So we see what it is about for pres.Osama : He is not interested in stopping ISIS .
What a shame – Kurdish gets killed everyday and the USA administration supports it !
duh_swami says
Rasool Obama is the great ‘rights’ giver’ of our time.
He gives Turkey the right to attack Kurds, he gives the Iranians the ‘right’ to nukes, he gives the ‘Palestinians’, a right to 67 borders, he gives everyone and anyone the ‘right’ to immigrate, he gives the Muslim Brotherhood a right to visit him in his office along with Al-Sharpton, he gives America’s enemies a right to our money…There are many more rights he has given, so many I could write a book…It’s too bad that he can’t be president forever…But don’t worry, when Hillary gets elected, she will erase as many of our rights as she can…
Judi says
Good post duh_swami.
Mirren10 says
Well, I know I’m in the minority here.
What everyone seems to be forgetting, is that the Kurds are **muslims.**
Muslims place the ummah before *anything* else. Something people would do well to remember, before they wax all romantic and all, about the brave Kurds. muslims *always* bite the hand that feeds them. Infidel or otherwise.
Falsafa says
who’s feeding who’s hand o elegant blogger Mirrenxx…? the people who would listen this bigoted drivel would do well instead to listen to lectures from Sheikh Hamza Yusuf…perhaps that would help clear some of the cobwebs which must have accumulated in your minds as a result of such hatred and ignorance!
duh_swami says
I don’t listen to no Sheiksh, their lies give me a headache…So instead I just shake their hand…vigorously, for 10-15 minutes, then give them 30-50 hardy pats on the back for being a stand up guys..That’s not hateful, is it?
Champ says
Mirren10 offers the plain truth, but then ‘falsafa’ calls her a ..bigot? Rubbish!
Sure, truth is the new hate speech, right? Right. And those that dare speak the truth are either bigots, hateful or ignorant — nonsense! Stop lying. These buzz words are tiresome, and no one here is falling for them.
And ‘falsafa’ has an interesting choice of a monikder, I’d say, since his offerings are generally FALSE.
Angemon says
Huh, alfalfa? The presence of cobwebs in a place just means that spiders were in that place at a given time – they’re unrelated to hatred or violence. And there’s nothing hateful or bigoted or violent in what Mirren posted – the majority of Kurds nowadays are sunni muslims.
As for Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, is that the sufi who served as “islamic advisor” in Bush’s administration? If so, prepare to be shocked and awed, because he’s in no way representative of orthodox islam – I believe he’s been called “traitor”, “deviant” and “sell-out”.
John C. Barile says
Mirren, to the degree that Syria’s Kurds and their Democratic Union Party are secularists and egalitarian–and they are–and in coalition with Syriac Christians–and they are–are decisively engaging the Islamic State and are also at perpetual odds with Turkey, Iran, and Iraq–to that degree, then, they are Muslims In Name Only and are suitable and reliable allies.
Wakeup says
Yes they are muslims but they are more moderate and therefore deviant and deviance in islam is to be encouraged. Differences in opinion lead to debate which has to be the goal of getting them to consider leaving islam. Lastly divide and islam up into smaller nations who are more easy to deal with. If I were Trump I would simply state that I was in favour of a free Kurdistan which would really set the cat amongst the pidgeons. What is not to like about this.
Charli Main says
You are of course correct that the Kurds are muslims, but unlike the Seljuk Turks that are central Asian invaders of Anatolia and Greater Syria, the Kurds are the native, indigenous people of the area. I believe that the Kurds were Zoroastrian before islam was forced on them by muslim invaders from Mecca.
Beagle says
What is most interesting here is that the Turks are bombing Kurds in nominal Iraq. This is not counterterrorism against an internal enemy, but an act of war against a neighboring state. Which, of course, is A-OK with the Iranian rump state based in Baghdad and their lackey, Obama.
shams78 says
Its not okay with the Baghdad authorities.
Apparently its okay for Barzani, the leader of Iraqi Kurdistan and the Peshemerga KDP (and a rival of the PKK) since he has not done jack to stop the Turks from bombing the PKK.
Barzani has cooperated with Turkey against the Baghadad central government and illegally exported oil via Turkey to Baghdad’s outrage.
The Kurdish PUK run by Talabani (ally of the PKK) has tried pushing for more cooperation with Baghdad but Barzani’s KDP keep blocking their moves and supported Turkey instead.
Maria says
PKK in Northern Iraq is not in Turkey also there was a cease fire with the PKK Turkey just doest want the Kurds to have a state and is supporting ISIS while the Obama government plays dumb and pretends not to notice and gives Turkey its blessing to commit genocide on the kurds who saved the yazadis from more genocide also in Northern Iraq its where Assyrians and Yazidis have fled to escape ISIS they will be hit by Turkeys bombs
Jack Holan says
Now we are so embarrassed we had to send a Major out to deliver the news. Why is it Turkey hit Civilian areas?Why is their storyline different that ours? Why did Ash meet with terrorists. In the end NO ONE will trust the USA because of the backstabbers in the White House.
abad says
Obama is the AntiChrist
Roger Melly says
Test
Ntgf says
Absurd
kay says
Erdogan was massively pro-Islamic State.
He wanted to bring down Assad, Salafist style. IS would be great for that.
The Turkish secret police let all kinds of traffic acoss the southern border for several reasons such as oil ,money, and love of jihad against Assad and Shia populations.
Erdogan was happy to see as many Iraqi Kurdish women and children killed as possible.
He’s a total sociopath and he has delusions of rebooting the Ottoman caliphate.
He wanted to get much stronger “Presidential powers” and Kurds put together a coalition to knock him back. He hates that too.
All Erdogan does is make things worse.
As far as the Kurds, of course many or most will be Muslim by culture.
But word is that Turkish Kurds can be very secular, democratic, progressive.
And their chicks are serious military class hitters.
Of course Islamic State hates them. Erdogan did his absolute best to choke the Syrian Kurds and support Islamic State. Because he’s Salafist too.
Turkey should replace Erdogan and get someone sane and reasonable instead.
Erdogan made matters so much worse when he could have helped prevent many of the problems we see today by shutting down the Turkish border to Islamic State bad guys, oil, and jihadi immigrants.
He’s been their biggest supporter next to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis and Erdogan’s people failed to understand that it is much easier to start a raging fire than to control it.
And now two countries are destroyed with 14 million refugees.
This is insane. And MUCH of the problem here is Erdogan.
So, for Obama to tolerate Erdogan is actually worse than Erdogan himself. It appears the two are chummy. This is so bizarre.
Nobody in their right mind trusts the Turks. The most spiteful word my grandmother knew was “Turk”. Not Nazi or Communist. Turk.
That says everything. Erdogan proves my grandma is still right. Erdogan is telling Islamic State to back off. But he’s not ACTUALLY opposing them.
He could have moved tanks 2 miles inside Syria and fought to establish a buffer zone.
But deep down, he wants the Salafists to take Syria.
And if they do, there will be a great slaughter of women and children.
I say that if Syria falls, blame Erdogan. He’s just a cruel power-tripping gangster with no common sense whatever.
Horseman says
If there is a truce and cease fire then why the bombing?
Milt W says
So we can now expect the Kurds to be recipients of enough fire power to protect themselves from the Barry O and Co. which will some how fall into IS hands giving them the weapons needed to defend against modern jets and bombers?
Lioness says
But for some reason Obama doesn’t say that Israel has the right to attack Hamas to defend itself.