Via Mick Hartley via the NY Times: ‘Israel Endorsed Kurdish Independence. Saladin Would Be Proud‘
‘Ties between the two have only grown warmer and more vital since the 1960s, as Israel and the Kurds — both minorities in an inhospitable region and ever in need of international allies — have repeatedly come to each other’s aid. The Kurds have long patterned their lobbying efforts in Washington on those of Israel’s supporters.’
On the realist vision, there are no true friends, rather alliances, common interests and threats; vectors of forces. There’s situational logic, and there are very real abstractions which matter (the character of a people, the ideas and core principles which guide them, the leaders that rise to power which can’t be too far in front of the coalitions which got them there…should they be elected).
There are also shared experiences, suffering, sentiment and sacrifices.
Relationships matter.
When the cold winds blow, however, you just may find yourself standing alone.
When survival is at stake, and war a necessity, urgency and expediency come to the fore, as does courage in battle, and cool under fire.
Barzani expects no conflict with Baghdad, but no going back for Kurds | Middle East Eye https://t.co/SWbRBcqNeB
— Hemin Hawrami (@heminhawrami) September 24, 2017
Not only does the Cold War and the backdrop of Russian/American power games still influence this region heavily, but the very split deep within the West itself does as well: There are Communist Kurdish militias, and there are Kurdish nationalist militias appealing to American patriotism, Constitutional Republicanism, and the liberation of peoples oppressed under unwanted authority.
As posted:
Ofra Bengio At The American Interest: The Kurds’ Proxy Trap
Independent Kurdistan-A Good Outcome For American Interests?
In his book Where The West Ends, Totten describes visiting Northern Iraq briefly as a tourist with a friend, and the general feeling of pro-Americanism in Kurdish Northern Iraq that generally one can only feel in Poland, parts of the former Yugoslavia etc.
Related On This Site: Adam Garfinkle At The American Interest’s Via Media: “The Rise Of Independent Kurdistan?”…From Reuters: ‘Analysis: Syrian Kurds Sense Freedom, Power Struggle Awaits’