Free Republic

“I’ve been fighting for half a century. With my people I have been through mass killings, deportations, gassings. In 1991 after the first war against Saddam, the democracies came to our rescue but left the dictatorship in place, thus casting us back into the shadows. During those decades of resistance, of hopes dashed and reborn… never imagined that in my people would finally come together and express to the world their desire to be democratic and free. That day came; and it is the happiest day of my life. It’s as if everything I’ve done and dreamed of, all of...

Israeli professor says Jerusalem should endorse Kurdish aspirations in war-torn Syria, can help defeat Islamic State After the main Syrian Kurdish group officially declared areas under its control in northern Syria a federalized autonomous region this week, the Syrian regime and opposition, as well as Turkey, immediately rejected the declaration. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign up! The group was also not given a seat at the table of peace negotiations taking place in Geneva. Despite not being recognized, the Syrian Kurds have fully governed their region for two...

Kurdish Peshmerga force in Rabia a town on the Iraqi-Syria border News / Kurdistan Kurdish Forces Control Iraq-Syria Border Town 30.08.2014  Mewan Dolamari BasNews, Erbil   Kurdish Peshmerga forces, with the help of US military planes, have taken complete control of Rabia, a town located on the Iraq – Syria border.   On Saturday, a Kurdish military source told BasNews correspondent in Rabia that the Peshmerga  now control the strategically important area, holding the border between Iraq and Syria.   “Now, Rabia is totally under the control of Peshmerga forces and the advances of Islamic State (IS) militants from...

Peshmerga are not U.S. priority for now: official A Pentagon spokeswoman has said the priority of the U.S. right now is equipping the Iraqi government forces and Sunni tribal fighters not the Kurdish forces of Peshmerga. A chief goal of the Obama administration’s Iraq war policy is to train and arm the Iraqi army so it can retake territory, especially in the Islamic State stronghold of Sunni-dominated western Iraq. According to Washington Times, Kurdish officials say Baghdad is the obstacle on Kurds’ receiving weapons. Iraqi government alone decides what weapons get transferred from the capital to the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional...

With ISIS continuing to hold the upper hand in Syria and Iraq, it appears that the terrorist network is planning what military strategists call a pincer movement to attack the Israeli homeland from the north and south. Three Syrian rebel groups switched loyalties to gain ISIS support for attacks on the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, according to a report by the Fiscal Times. ISIS is now able to coordinate with Egyptian ISIS-aligned terror group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis in Sinai to simultaneously pressure Israel's northern and southern borders... Although the U.S. led Coalition Joint Task Force named "Operation Inherent Resolve" claims to...

Assisted by US airstrikes, forces of the autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan have retaken the historically Christian towns of Tel Isqof (or Telskuf) and Batnaya from the Sunni jihadist forces. Christian residents who returned to Tel Isqof were “shocked” by the level of destruction committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Assyrian International News Agency reported. They restored crosses to their churches before beginning the task of cleaning up their town. Additional sources for this storySome links will take you to other sites, in a new window. Interactive Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Los Angeles...

While anti-Israel bigots, Arabs, Muslims have for so long tried to cast Israelis' legitimate concern over a growing racist Arab threat that seeks its annihilation - in a bad light, the recent phenomenon is that radical leftysts inside Israel cast at times these worries and subsequented defensive actions also with such bombastic -unfair- definitions, though their aim is political, the damage is horrific. Now, why don't we talk about the real racism in the area, outside or even inside Israel, the Arab racism of course, that which since (at least the 1920s) tried to commit genocide on the Jewish population...

Mosul, in northern Iraq, had a substantial Christian population of around 10,000 until Sunni Islamist militants belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) took the city in their lightning offensive last week. Most of them have fled, seeking refuge in nearby Kurdistan, an autonomous Kurdish territory where they feel protected from the hard-line Sunni fighters by the local Peshmerga army. Unlike the rest of Iraq, Kurdistan has succeeded in preserving co-existence between its diverse communities, and for now it's a safe haven for oppressed minorities. The Peshmerga have taken advantage of the power vacuum in northern...

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN'S PERSECUTION OPPRESSION OF MINORITIES - ISLAMIC APARTHEID In General, Christians, Baha'i, Kurds, Jews, Azeris, Baluchis, Ahwazi Arabs Again, religious persecution in IranFebruary 20, 2009Ethel C. FenigAs Thomas Lifson noted yesterday Iranian authorities destroyed a Sufi holy site, continuing their practice of pressuring and discriminating against religions that do not strictly follow the Shi'ite form of Islam.  But the Sufis are not the only religious minority suffering discrimination in Iran.   The 2500 year old Jewish community, which numbered over 80,000 thirty years ago at the time of the Khoemeni Revolution which overthrew the Shah, has dwindled to about...

Gill Rosenberg, 31, left to fight in Syria with all-female Peshmerga unit Jihadist sources say she was captured in contested town of Kobane Canadian government says it is investigating the reports A Canadian woman who flew to Syria to join the fight against ISIS has reportedly been captured. Gill Rosenberg, 31, left North America to join the ranks of the Kurdish Peshmerga fighting force, which has elite all-female units. Rosenberg, a joint citizen of Israel who served in the Israeli Defense Force, went to fight against the so-called Islamic State earlier this month, while they were locked in combat over...

The Washington Post headline on June, 2, 2015, read: “Obama Makes an Impassioned Case for a Palestinian State.” While President Obama and his administration are eager for the establishment of another unstable and likely terrorist Arab (there are 21 Arab states, and Palestine is the 22nd) state called Palestine, they have largely ignored if not betrayed the Kurds in Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey. The Kurds are one of the largest national groups globally without a state of their own, and they are yearning for one independent Kurdish state. Justice for the Kurds, it seems, is subjected to the whims...

The Washington Post headline on June, 2, 2015, read: “Obama Makes an Impassioned Case for a Palestinian State.” While President Obama and his administration are eager for the establishment of another unstable and likely terrorist Arab (there are 21 Arab states, and Palestine is the 22nd) state called Palestine, they have largely ignored if not betrayed the Kurds in Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey. The Kurds are one of the largest national groups globally without a state of their own, and they are yearning for one independent Kurdish state. Justice for the Kurds, it seems, is subjected to the whims...

Genetics, DNA - strong Proof of (almost all) Jews' roots to the land of Israel, not so for Arabs /"palestinians" [The "palestinian" Arabs as "cousins" MYTH]Jews and their neighbors: The Middle East With Jews looking increasingly like a relatively cohesive population largely of Middle Eastern origin, the logical next question is how close a genetic relationship exists with other Middle Eastern groups. A study of Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs published in 2000 by Israeli researchers revealed what the authors described as "a relatively recent common ancestry." It was greeted with euphoric proclamations that Palestinians and Jews are "brothers." A...

For all the misgivings Americans may have about the Iraq War — its rationale, its execution, and its aftermath — there is at least one thing of which to be proud: our support of a free, autonomous, and democratic Kurdistan. The story of the Kurds and their steadfast support of an Iraq free from fascism of either the Baathist or Islamist type is one worth telling and retelling. It’s one of uncommon moral clarity. The Kurds are not a monolithic people; there are very real cultural and political differences between Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran. Nonetheless, they share...

LONDON,— Iraqi Kurdistan looked set to unload its first cargo of disputed crude oil in Israel from its new independent pipeline after weeks of seeking an outlet as Iraq's central government has threatened legal action against any buyer. The SCF Altai tanker was anchored near Israel's Ashkelon port early on Friday morning, ship tracking and industry sources said. The tanker is expected to dock early on Saturday, local sources said. Securing the first sale of oil from its independent pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan is crucial for the Kurdish Regional Government as it seeks greater financial independence from...

Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan has for the first time detailed its secretive oil exports operations and said it plans to sell more, whether Baghdad likes it or not, as it needs money to survive and fight Islamic State. The region's minister for natural resources, Ashti Hawrami, said that to avoid detection oil was often funneled through Israel, transferred directly between ships off the coast of Malta, and decoy ships used to make it harder for Baghdad to track. Kurdistan says it had been forced to bypass Baghdad and begin exporting oil directly because the latter refused to respect budgets...

The complete cut of ties between Israel and Turkey has accelerated the development of advanced weapon systems in Turkey. When the “Honeymoon” between the two countries was on, Turkey purchased and planned to purchase all types of Israeli made weapon system. The Turkish military does not boast the world’s most advanced gear for precision strikes, but a number of local programs are progressing, signaling reduced future dependence on foreign systems. That has changed. According to Defense News Turkish officials recently reported “critical progress” in three systems they have been developing over the past years. Procurement officials said the first critical...

Netanyahu explained that recent events have shown the dangers of a security strategy that is overly dependent on Western powers. It is important to build a regional axis of cooperation with moderate forces in the Middle East, Netanyahu said, explaining why he supports Kurdish independence.

snip American allies, such as Israel, are similarly nervous about the precipitous departure. A weak and America-less Iraq will have demonstrably negative consequences for Israel’s security environment. First, no country with an American military presence has attacked Israel. U.S. forces stationed in Turkey, Egypt, and the Gulf States have deterred or prevented those states from embarking on military action. In fact, the presence of U.S. forces has generally signaled the strategic orientation of those countries, first as anti-Soviet and now as anti-Iranian. snip Overall, the American withdrawal from Iraq portends ill for Israel. Iranian domination of Iraq is likely to...

Syrian Kurdish Leader: Moscow Wants to Work With Us A senior Kurdish leader is in Washington seeking support and expressing ambivalence about Russian intervention. Oct. 9, 2015 | 12:12 p.m. EDT By: Barbara Slavin, Washington Correspondent for Al-Monitor A Syrian Kurdish leader in Washington this week seeking greater US military support says that Russia has also offered to collaborate with Syrian Kurds in its current offensive against Muslim terrorist groups. Ilham Ehmed, a senior member of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), told Al-Monitor in a brief interview Oct. 8 that "Russia says it wants to work with us" to combat...