FREE NEWS LINKS
HOME SEARCH
Updates & changes ongoing ....
---- Although this site is https-secure, we cannot guarantee that it or any provided links are safe; be sure your antivirus and other security systems are up to date.
Also see: Syria; Turkey; Iran; Iraq; Afghanistan; military;
Jump to: 2015; 2017; 2018; 2019; 2020;
Undated: Kurds are an Iranian[24] ethnic group of the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a contiguous area known as Kurdistan. Geographically, those four adjacent and often-mountainous areas include southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria.[25] There are also exclaves of Kurds in central Anatolia and Khorasan. Additionally, there are significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey, in particular Istanbul, while a Kurdish diaspora has developed in Western Europe, primarily in Germany. Numerically, the Kurds are estimated to number anywhere from a low of 30 million, to possibly as high as 45 million.[26][2]
Kurds speak the Kurdish language, with several varied dialects such as Kurmanji, Sorani, and Zazaki; they are culturally and linguistically classified as belonging to the Iranian peoples.[27][28] Religiously, although the majority of Kurds belong to the Shafi‘i school of Sunni Islam, there also are prominent numbers of Kurds who practice Shia Islam and Alevism. Minority of the Kurdish people are adherents to Yarsanism (Ahl-i Haqq), Yazidism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity.
Historically, after World War One and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious Western allies made provision for a Kurdish state in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres. However, that promise was nullified three years later, when the Treaty of Lausanne set the boundaries of modern Turkey and made no provision for a Kurdish state, leaving Kurds with minority status in their respective countries.[29] This fact has led to numerous genocides and rebellions, along with the current ongoing armed guerrilla conflicts in Turkey, Iran, and Syria / Rojava. Although Kurds are the majority population in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, because of their statelessness, Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue greater cultural rights, autonomy, and independence throughout Greater Kurdistan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurds
-- 2015 --
January 20: Meet the Americans on the Front Lines in the Fight Against ISIS
When the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) surrounded the Yezidi tribes on Sinjar Mountain in August last year, Dean Parker was at his job as a commercial painter in the U.S.. That evening, he saw news reports of Kurdish fighters trying to liberate the mountain.
“I made the decision right there,” says Parker, now sitting in his hotel room in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah. “I was online booking a ticket.”
He packed body armour, boots, clothes and downloaded a copy of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War on his e-reader. He left the U.S. without telling his family. A month later the 49-year-old grandfather and surfer had traded his paintbrush and board for a rifle and was inside Syria.
http://time.com/3674281/isis-us-kurds-iraq/
-- 2017 --
Undated 2017: Trump, Turkey, and the Kurds ... Donald J. Trump's unexpected presidential victory in November 2016 has thrown a curveball into Turkey's difficult relations with the Kurds. What will be the Trump administration's policies toward Turkey and the Kurds? Will the new president continue to support the majority of Kurds in Syria battling ISIS or emphasize a renewal of the NATO alliance with Turkey? Trump's earlier statements that NATO allies should carry more of the organization's financial burdens potentially call into question NATO's future, especially given Trump's avowed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. How will the new administration's stated intention to emphasize business affairs affect its relations with Turkey and the Kurds? Will the Trump administration support putative independence for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)?
https://www.mepc.org/journal/trump-turkey-and-kurds
May 9: President Donald Trump on Monday authorized the Pentagon to arm Kurdish militias in Syria in the drive to wrest control of Raqqa from the Islamic State, the Pentagon confirmed in statement.
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/09/donald-trump-arms-syrian-kurds-raqqa-238167
October 29: President Trump Sits on the Sidelines as Iraq Rolls Over the Kurds
http://time.com/4989040/trump-sidelines-iraq-rolls-over-kurds/
-- 2018 --
July 13: Will Trump implement his own policy toward Kurds?
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/analysis/a7396ccc-e0f5-4299-9971-a253094fc194
September 27: President Trump refers to Kurdish reporter as 'Mr. Kurd' at UN press conference
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/09/27/trump-mr-kurd/1440512002/
December 22: Chaos in Washington Has Once Again Left the Kurds Stranded
The Kurds: Betrayed Again by Washington
Time and again, powerful allies on whose support they thought they could rely abandoned them.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/12/chaos-washington-kurds-stranded/578941/
December 20: Syrian Kurds left behind as Trump pulls out US troops
https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-12-20/syrian-kurds-left-behind-trump-pulls-out-us-troops
December 24: 'We Will Curse Them As Traitors': Syrian Kurds React To U.S. Troop Withdrawal Plan
Holiday lights adorn almost every main street in the city of Qamishli, whose diverse population includes many Christians, and shops are selling tinsel and plastic trees.
But President Trump's sudden decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria has overshadowed most of this year's celebrations. Syrians who have made the U.S. troops feel welcome here say they are shocked and upset by the news. Some are calling it a "stab in the back."
This is the part of Syria where U.S. troops have backed up local fighters in forcing ISIS out of nearly all the nearby cities and towns they once held. The Syrians — led by Kurdish fighters — have lost thousands in the fight, and some feel their sacrifices aren't being acknowledged or repaid.
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/24/679813573/we-will-curse-them-as-traitors-syrian-kurds-react-to-u-s-troop-withdrawal-plan
December 27: Trump’s order abandons 10,000 Kurds who fought ISIS
“This is something immoral, leaving your ally in the battle alone,” a Syrian Kurdish leader said.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/ignatius-trumps-order-abandons-10000-kurds-who-fought-isis/
December 28: In Syria, U.S.-Backed Kurdish Fighters Face Trump’s Withdrawal — and the Legacy of Their Own Mistakes
https://theintercept.com/2018/12/28/syria-withdrawal-kurds-pkk/
December 31: Lindsey Graham says Trump is slowing down his Syria troop withdrawal, will protect the Kurds and thwart Iran
https://theweek.com/speedreads/815054/lindsey-graham-says-trump-slowing-down-syria-troop-withdrawal-protect-kurds-thwart-iran
-- 2019 --
January 2: Trump gives no timetable for Syria exit; wants to protect Kurds
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-trump/trump-gives-no-timetable-for-syria-exit-wants-to-protect-kurds-idUSKCN1OW1GV
January 4: How Trump’s sudden withdrawal from Syria is bringing the Kurds and Assad together
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/a3mm74/the-kurds-are-getting-super-cozy-with-assad-now-that-trump-called-syria-sand-and-death
January 6: U.S. troops will not leave northeastern Syria until Islamic State militants are defeated and American-allied Kurdish fighters are protected, a top White House aide said Sunday, signaling a pause to a withdrawal abruptly announced last month and initially expected to be completed within weeks.
While U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said there is now no timetable, President Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment to withdrawing U.S. troops, though he said “we won’t be finally pulled out until ISIS is gone.”
Trump had said in his Dec. 19 withdrawal announcement that U.S. forces “have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” and added in a video posted to Twitter, “Now it’s time for our troops to come back home.”
Bolton said in Israel that the U.S. would pull out only after its troops had rooted out what’s left of IS in Syria and after the administration had reached an agreement with Turkey to protect Kurdish militias who have fought alongside Americans against the extremists.
In Washington, Trump told reporters at the White House that “we are pulling back in Syria. We’re going to be removing our troops. I never said we’re doing it that quickly.”
The president did not offer a timetable in the initial announcement last month about the approximately 2,000 U.S. forces. But officials said at the time that while many details were yet to be finalized, they expected American forces to be out by mid-January.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-adviser-us-to-leave-syria-once-is-beaten-kurds-safe
January 9: Is Trump About to Become the Third U.S. Leader to Betray the Kurds?
Over the past century, Kurds have gotten close to setting up their own state or autonomous regions on several occasions, only to have their dreams shattered after being abandoned by world powers
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/will-trump-become-the-third-u-s-leader-to-betray-the-kurds-1.6826242
January 10: Turkey Pledges to Strike Kurds Even If Donald Trump Doesn’t Pull U.S. Out of Syria
https://www.newsweek.com/turkey-strike-kurds-donald-trump-syria-1286569
January 11: US official says withdrawal from Syria has begun
https://www.apnews.com/89288a2b8f274eb7897733078960df56
January 11: Americans who fought alongside the Kurds in Syria feel betrayed by Trump
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-syria-american-militiamen-2019-htmlstory.html
January 13: US-Turkey tensions rise after Trump tweets on Kurd forces in Syria
https://www.ft.com/content/9967e02a-1797-11e9-9e64-d150b3105d21
January 13: Trump touts 'long overdue' Syria pullout
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-tweets-long-overdue-pullout-from-syria-has-begun
January 14: Erdogan, Trump consider setting up 'security zone' in Syria
Two leaders discuss situation in Syria over the phone amid growing tensions over the fate of US-allied Kurdish fighters.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/erdogan-speaks-trump-turkey-issue-kurds-190114194841618.html
January 14: Trump threatens to 'devastate' Turkey's economy if they attack Kurds in Syria
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/13/politics/trump-turkey-kurds/index.html
January 14: Turkey will not be intimidated by Trump, says foreign minister
Ankara hits back after Trump threatened to ‘economically devastate’ it over Syria
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/14/trump-says-he-will-devastate-turkey-economically-if-it-attacks-kurds
January 14: Turkey on Jan. 14 warned U.S. President Donald Trump against conflating Syrian Kurds with the illegal PKK, while stressing the strategic partnership between two countries.
“It is a fatal mistake to equate Syrian Kurds with the PKK, which is on the US terrorists list, and its Syria branch PYD/YPG,” Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın said on Twitter.
“Turkey fights against terrorists, not Kurds. We will protect Kurds and other Syrians against all terrorist threats,” he added.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also slammed the U.S. for conflicting messages, sometimes released through social media.
"Strategic partners do not talk via Twitter and social media," Çavuşoğlu said Jan. 14, adding that the two countries' officials were already in talks to coordinate Trump's promised withdrawal from
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-equating-kurds-with-pyd-ypg-fatal-mistake-turkey-warns-trump-140475
January 14: Why the Kurds matter in Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria
https://globalnews.ca/news/4844628/syria-kurds-trump-us-troops/
January 15: Kurds fear their fate as Turkey says Donald Trump reaffirmed U.S. Syria withdrawal
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/turkey-donald-trump-erdogan-syria-us-troop-withdrawal-kurdish-ypg-fate/
January 18: A Syrian Kurdish leader explains why sudden U.S. troop withdrawal could bring slaughter and ISIS return
https://www.philly.com/opinion/commentary/trump-kurds-erdogan-bolton-pompeo-isis-turkey-syria-suicide-bomber-20190118.html
January 18: U.S. military leaders 'embarrassed' by Trump's Syria plan, Kurdish commander says
“They didn’t expect this decision. It’s out of their hands, and they are constantly apologizing for it.”
“It was a joint war, but they left us in the middle of the road,” said Gen. Mazlum Kobane, who is in charge of the coalition of militias known as the Syrian Democratic Forces.
U.S. troops and Kurdish-led fighters were "brothers in arms" as partners on the ground in the war against ISIS in Syria, he added.
But Trump’s announcement that he was withdrawing all U.S. troops from the country immediately has left the Kurds feeling abandoned. The president tweeted on Dec. 19 that the U.S. had “defeated ISIS in Syria,” adding that was the “only reason” to have troops on the ground there.
On Wednesday, ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Manbij that killed 19, including four Americans.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-troops-embarrassed-trump-s-syria-plan-kurdish-commander-n960126
January 20: Trump discusses a 'negotiated solution' on Syria with Turkey's president
President Trump spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Sunday about a “negotiated solution” for Syria, where the withdrawal of U.S. troops has alarmed Kurdish allies of America who are considered terrorists by the Turks.
In a phone call, Mr. Trump “underscored the importance of defeating terrorist elements that remain in Syria,” the White House said.
About 2,000 U.S. troops have been fighting the Islamic State in northeast Syria with the help of Kurdish fighters, near the border of Turkey. The administration has begun withdrawing those forces, with Mr. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence asserting that the terrorist group is all but destroyed.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jan/20/recep-tayyip-erdogan-trump-discuss-kurds-syria/
January 25: Better Assad Than the Turks, Say Syrian Kurds Squeezed by Trump
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-26/better-assad-than-the-turks-say-syrian-kurds-squeezed-by-trump
January 25: Trump Abandoning the Kurds Isn’t Realism. It’s Tragedy.
These are costs to pulling troops from Syria that the president won’t care to acknowledge.
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/01/25/trump-abandoning-the-kurds-isnt-realism-its-tragedy/
January 28: The Unintended Consequences of Trump’s Decision to Withdraw From Syria
It has already empowered Russia and Iran while undermining the Kurds.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/01/28/unintended-consequences-trump-decision-withdraw-syria/
January 29: Amid ongoing discussions and confusion about the future of the US presence in Syria, President Donald Trump had words of comfort for a representative of a key ally in the fight against ISIS on Monday night.
"I love the Kurds," Trump told Kurdish Leader Ilham Ahmed in an unconventional diplomatic meeting at the Trump International Hotel in Washington on Monday night.
Ahmed asked Trump if he would leave the Kurds in Syria to be slaughtered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump promised them he would not.
"We felt much better, but we are still looking for more meetings," explained Ahmed, a Syrian-Kurdish politician and the head of the Executive Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), on Tuesday.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/29/politics/trump-kurds-hotel-meeting/index.html
January 31: Bipartisan senators press Trump for strategy to protect Syrian Kurds
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/427844-bipartisan-senators-press-trump-for-strategy-to-protect-syrian-kurds
January 31: Lawmakers urge Trump to protect Kurds after US withdrawal
https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2019/01/31/lawmakers-urge-trump-to-protect-kurds-after-us-withdrawal/
February 1: President Donald Trump defended his decision to remove troops from Syria and Afghanistan in a series of tweets Friday morning, a day after the Senate issued a rebuke of the president cautioning against the “precipitous withdrawal” of military forces.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/01/trump-syria-afghanistan-troops-1141759
February 2: Kurdish-led forces in Syria said they would complete the evacuation of thousands of civilians from Islamic State’s last redoubt in the area on Friday, and welcomed a White House reversal of President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out all U.S. troops.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria/syria-kurds-evacuate-civilians-from-is-redoubt-hail-trump-troop-reversal-idUSKCN1QB1IK
February 5: Tulsi Gabbard invites Kurdish leader to State of the Union in jab at Trump's Syria pullout
https://www.businessinsider.com/state-of-the-union-2019-tulsi-gabbard-invites-kurdish-leader-jab-at-trumps-syria-plan-2019-2
February 5: Syrian Kurdish Leader Asks U.S. to Save Her People From ‘Catastrophe’
As Assad consolidates power, Kurds want autonomy in northeastern Syria.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/02/05/syrian-kurdish-leader-asks-u-s-to-save-her-people-from-catastrophe/
February 5: 'I Was Not Consulted.' Top U.S. General Left Out of Syria Withdrawal Decision
http://time.com/5521419/syria-withdrawal-donald-trump-joseph-votel/
February 22: Why Kurds' joy at Trump's decision to keep troops in Syria may be premature
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/02/intel-turkey-kurds-welcome-trump-decision-troops-syria.html
February 22: Trump agrees to keep about 400 US troops in Syria, official says
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/22/politics/syria-us-troops-donald-trump/index.html
March 13: Syria's Kurds Defeated ISIS and Were Abandoned by Trump. Now They Must Look to Russia
Syria's Kurdish leaders hope for a political deal that would safeguard their autonomy and shield their region from Turkish attack
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/syria-s-kurds-defeated-isis-and-were-abandoned-by-trump-now-they-must-to-russia-1.7019857
March 13: 400 American Troops Can’t Do Anything
Beginning this past December, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the United States was leaving Syria immediately, in a matter of weeks. As it turns out, U.S. forces are not leaving quite as quickly as the president envisioned. Although he assured soldiers during a visit to Iraq that there would be a complete withdrawal from Syria, the Trump administration recently announced that a residual force of 400 personnel would remain.
https://www.cfr.org/article/400-american-troops-cant-do-anything
-- 2020 --
Webpage visitor counts provided by
