Op-Ed: MIDEAST NOTES: Syria, Turkey and the Kurds Published: Friday, November

Arutz Sheva ^ | 18/11/11 | Aymen Jawad at-Tamimi

[Eleutheria5]

The Kurds, deprived of a homeland in spite of being promised self-determination in the aftermath of World War One, are beginning to play the role of kingmakers in key countries.

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a student at Brasenose College, Oxford University, and an intern at Daniel Pipes' Philadelphia-based think-tank, the Middle East Forum. ► More from this writer

According to a report by the French daily Le Figaro, Bashar al-Assad is apparently aiming to destabilize Turkey, which has been supporting the predominantly Sunni Islamist leadership of opposition groups to the Syrian regime, by seeking to grant greater autonomy to the Kurdish population that primarily lives in the north and north-east of Syria.

Aspart of this initiative, Assad has reportedly encouraged the opening of Kurdish schools in the north, and has allowed for a Kurdish politician by the name of Muhammad Salih Muslim- a member of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) that is suspected of being affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and is apparently organizing local elections in the Kurdish areas- to return to Syria from exile in Iraq.

What are the observations and conclusions to draw from this report if it is credible?

First, that Assad might wish to use the Kurds as proxies against Turkey in a way has precedent in Syrian policy.

Bashar’s father Hafez had once provided a safe haven for the PKK to launch attacks on Turkish soil, and it was during those years that Turkey, sensing that there was a common terrorist threat in the region, had particularly good ties with Israel. However, in 1998, once Turkey threatened to invade Syria to take out the PKK, Hafez changed course, and the tensions between the two countries slowly began to cool down.

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[Eleutheria5]

As I've said many times before, Israel should support the Kurds against Turkey, Syria and Iran. This would either give us an ally, or if they, too, turn out to be a bunch of nut-job Jihaaadis, at least divide our enemies and show to the world their blatant hypocracy (two peoples, two states, right?).

[Jabba the Nutt]

The thing about being a superpower, its that you can throw over the apple cart and change the game. Here's what the President (Bush) ought to have told Syria and Iran: "Stop the support for terrorism or we will support the creation of Kurdistan and break up your countries." Of course, RINO squish numbskull Colonel Colin Powell told Syria instead that we would not invade them. After that Syria supported terrorism in Iraq and killed thousands of Americans.

We could still use this threat to end Iran's nuclear program. Stop or else! The "or else" is support Iran's ethnic minorities (50%) of the country and the threat to break Iran into pieces with the Kurds getting a piece.

[Eleutheria5]

Or how about just doing it. Kurdistan has a nice ring to it.

[mosesdapoet]

Iteresting developments thanks for the posting.

Joe Biden while running for president offered a solution to the Iraqi problem Divide it into a federation of 3 automnous states. One of which would be Kurdish.

At the time Turkey which earlier denied access to US troops was still our as well as Israel’s “friend”. Few visualized a radicalised islamic Turkey. One of the reasons for rejecting it was the poo-pooing of the growing movement towards islamization of politics in Turkey by liberals or “progressives” assigned to concern themselves with reporting and evaluating foreign political developments in that region.

This mindset solidly in place even well after 911 because the power and influence particularly by advocates and adhearants of the 2nd book of Koran. They have always been underestimated and when discussed never intimate a reducing of their influence through sundry methods because of Political Correctness ..

There is a defacto quasi automunity in the Kurdish region in Iraq . It is cheifly because Kurds are settled in a given section of Iraq . Kurdish automony should be encouraged coupled with secular solution which accepts “Free Will” see http://www.theusmat.com/islamandfreewill.htm