By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
In an interview, American civilian Dean Parker of Colorado tells of his mission to help the Kurdish people battle the ISIS. He joined the Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG) after seeing a BBC News broadcast showing the rescue of civilians from the war torn regions in the Levant and felt compelled to join the resistance to save the Kurds and the Yezidi people from genocide at the hands of the Islamic State.
His interview brings a new facet to the difficulty the YPG and others face along with some insights into what the Kurdish people value in their respect of other religions and creeds falling under their umbrella and in need of protection.
Dean offers a new perspective to what is currently offered by the mainstream news.
By Darren Smith
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I want to fight ISIS how can I get involved? Conley
Conley
Sorry Sandy, wrong on several counts! Turkey is still safe for Americans, unlike many other places around the world.
The US is not thinking about moving our refueling port to different countries, Turkey is strategically placed and therefore an essential port for us. That is why we are reluctant to arm the Kurds against Turkey’s wishes.
We cannot arm the Kurds directly because they are not independent, they are either subject to Iraqi control or Turkish control, both essential US allies.
Turkey has become a dangerous place for Americans. Some of our sailors sightseeing while in a Turkisk port for refueling were attacked by the ruffians every country has. Little help was offered our sailers. The US is considering moving our refueling port to different countries.
Have the Kurds ever received the arms we sent them that got stuck somehow in Iraq? Why can’t we send then to the Kurds directly? The Kurds helped our fighters by telling our troops where they were. They also had soldiers embedded in their homes.
The Kurds seem to be a country not divided by religious cult. They have fought very hard to help people driven from their homes get to a refugee areas. This seems like another missed opportunity.
Karen, have you read the previous posts? Zedalis posted a few sources showing exactly how the Obama administration have been supplying arms to the Kurds.
Also, have we forgotten the recent news that arms and supplied drops destined for the Kurds has been blown into ISL held territory?
Additionally, as Shlorrs says, we must be careful about supplying arms to anyone…every terrorist group around the world uses mostly US made weapons, either bought from us, supplied by us or stolen from those to whom we sold or gave to.
Finally, the ME is not the only unstable place, the whole world. Right here, if the gulf between liberals and conservatives keeps increasing, where do you think it will lead?
Young people are out on the street calling for change, blacks are demanding the right to not be killed by the police, and the some whites, and the police are taking it personally.
I think it may be time to keep that one eye trained on the domestic front.
More on the frustrations of getting arms and training to the Kurds.
http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_26645900/kurdish-fighters-havent-received-weapons-training-from-u
zedalis:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/10/17/isis-threat-operation-inherent-resolve-is-flop-time-to-arm-kurds/
Apparently, the US did send some weapons, THROUGH the Iraqi army, which of course refused to give them to the Kurds. There was talk about arming them last summer, but it’s my understanding that it never actually happened.
Who tries to arm the Kurds through the Iraqi army? You know, the Iraqis who tried to exterminate the Kurds with chemical weapons a couple of decades ago?
At her inauguration, the first Kurd to hold a post in Turkey’s parliament, Layla Zana, gave her required oath in Turkish, but added a statement in Kurdish to the effect that she would do her best so that Kurds and Turks could live together under democracy.
She was arrested for making separatist speech.
The Kurds did not want to be ruled by the Ottomans, and now they want the subjugation by the Turks to end. The problem for the Turks is that Kurds make up about 1/5 the population, last time I checked.
Lots of instability in the ME, and getting worse, not better. . .
It seems like everyone has tried to wipe out the Kurds at one point or another in the ME.
I cannot conceive of why Obama will not send arms to them, when he has sent arms to the Iraqis.
If history is any guide, there is a good chance that some people we arm and train in the Iraqi army will turn against us. The same thing happened when we trained and armed the Afghani mujahadeen, of which Bin Laden was a member, against the Russians. But it seems impossible to escape or prevent this.
However, the Kurds have shown a trend of celebrating all things Western. They are not the Taliban. Helping them fight ISIS is the right thing to do.
Randyjet – sad how Turkey has fallen recently towards extremism. It seems less likely than ever that they will admit to the Armenian genocide.