Posted on 10/06/2017 5:43:35 AM PDT by huldah1776
The US government has stopped paying Kurdish peshmerga fighters’ salaries after a yearlong agreement expired over the summer, and there are no current plans to renew it.
Under the deal negotiated by the Barack Obama administration in July 2016, the United States agreed to pay stipends to some 36,000 Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq. The agreement was expected to be renewed over the summer for another year, but US and Kurdish officials tell Al-Monitor that talks stalled as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) pursued a divisive referendum on independence and the IS presence in the region began to collapse.
“The department does not currently fund stipend payments for the peshmerga,” Defense Department spokesman Eric Pahon told Al-Monitor. “The memorandum of understanding between the Department of Defense and the KRG facilitating stipend support during the Mosul operation expired in July 2017, and the final stipend payment was transferred in early September.”
Peshmerga sources flatly accuse the Donald Trump administration of withholding support because of opposition to last month’s nonbinding referendum. The United States has taken Baghdad’s side in the dispute and refused to recognize the results, which indicate overwhelming support for Kurdish independence.
***snip*** Regardless, Pahon said the Pentagon continues to support the peshmerga with other forms of “military cooperation and security assistance” such as training and equipment.
“The stipend is not the entirety, or even the bulk, of our support for peshmerga forces fighting [IS],” he said. “We are providing the necessary support to our partner forces, at the approval of the government of Iraq, for ensuring the defeat" of IS.
(Excerpt) Read more at al-monitor.com ...
None of the Kurds in the leadership of the KRG are Marxist.
Some of the supporters of the Syrian Kurds may in fact be.
The Syrian Kurds are more Communal in local government, but that was the case for the Israeli’s in the beginning. I’m not defending leftist positions, they simply don’t work.
The PKK until about 25 years ago were very far Leftists.
The Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran have all been persecuted by ME governments. They have all been treated as 2nd class or lower by the powers that be.
Kurds in Syria and Iraq have accomplished great deeds when it comes to ending ISIS. We have supported them to accomplish that.
Why do we care? Because of our allies in Israel. Because of our business partners in Saudi Arabia (won’t go past that)
Short answers about Kurds are impossible. They are in 4 countries and each of those groups is different.
In my opinion, it is still possible for the US and Russia to anchor a peace after ISIS is gone. Yes, I know what Russia is, no illusion.
Can we repair Turkey? No. I don’t believe anything will improve Turkey until Erdogan the Islamist is removed by the Turkish people. That is a problem, the opposition is in jail and all media in Turkey is pure propaganda.
you have your favorite tribesman over there that’s for sure
throwing rocks at each other for 5,000 years
and they’ll be throwing rocks at each other for another 5,000 years
If you want to send your favorite tribesmen some money or blood, just don’t drag America into your intercine squabbles
America First
You stated: “just don’t drag America into your intercine squabbles”
Obama and his Unicorn Jihadi Armies did that. And caused huge casualties, destruction and extreme suffering as a consequence.
Trump said he would end ISIS, and he will with the help of the Kurds. No other group could have accomplished that goal. Some because they side with ISIS the rest because they are incapable of doing it.
Are you willing to walk away from supporting Israel?
Have you thought about the consequences of that?
I do not favor any one of the tribes over there. none of them. all of the tribes are bickering, squabbling, rock throwers. all of them.
These is zero interest for America to squander one penny over there. Nothing we do will stop these people throwing rocks at each other.
Have you been there?
Do you know anyone who has?
” they want someone else to give it to them”
They are fighting and dying for a country.
Your post is unfair and .... what can I say; dumb
yeah
and everyone who visits ends up loving their favorite bickering tribes and parroting the tales of how bad the other tribes are. They get sucked into the squabbles and intercine bickering, little realizing that superficially these tribes are different, but overall the tribes are all the same.
maybe it’s the water or the sand or the sun - who knows and why should any American give a rats ass, is beyond me.
Bad move as all three - Russia, Turkey and now the U.S., are putting pressure on the best forces in Syria against ISIS. I think this is a Mattis move, and surely not a good one, and not my only reason I oppose him.
hmmm. I’m going to have to think about this in the morning. I am interested in your opposition to Mattis. Although I loved sending his moto quotes to my son as a recruit in the Corps, I have my reservations also.
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