Maybe some day the Kurds will actually have their own country.
Independent Kurdistan taking shape
Neither Syria nor Iraq have effective and powerful central governments, which have in the past crushed Kurdish nationalist movements. Kurds smell the great opportunity for building an independent Kurdistan now
The Kurds fight so well largely because, in addition to trying to defeat an extremist enemy, they are fighting for something else: a country of their own. The future Kurdistan may be severely buffeted across Arab portions of the Middle East. Neither Syria nor Iraq have effective and powerful central governments, which have in the past crushed Kurdish nationalist movements. Kurds smell the great opportunity for building an independent Kurdistan now. The Kurds, despite their large numbers — about 30 million worldwide — as well as their shared language, culture and identity, have never had a nation and were divided in four countries in the Sykes-Picot Agreement created after World War I by the UK and France. However, they are getting closer to one nation with every victory in the battlefield. In Iraq, Kurdish forces armed by both Iran and the US have taken perhaps 10,000 square miles from IS since last fall. They also snapped up the disputed city of Kirkuk, rich in oil and cultural significance to the Kurds and Arabs alike, and are preventing Arabs from returning to some villages. Houses are marked “Reserved for Kurds,” and Kurdish checkpoints declare, “No Arabs allowed”.
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Independent Kurdistan taking shape?
Independent Kurdistan taking shape
Neither Syria nor Iraq have effective and powerful central governments, which have in the past crushed Kurdish nationalist movements. Kurds smell the great opportunity for building an independent Kurdistan now
- Manish Rai
- July 01, 2015
The Kurds fight so well largely because, in addition to trying to defeat an extremist enemy, they are fighting for something else: a country of their own. The future Kurdistan may be severely buffeted across Arab portions of the Middle East. Neither Syria nor Iraq have effective and powerful central governments, which have in the past crushed Kurdish nationalist movements. Kurds smell the great opportunity for building an independent Kurdistan now. The Kurds, despite their large numbers — about 30 million worldwide — as well as their shared language, culture and identity, have never had a nation and were divided in four countries in the Sykes-Picot Agreement created after World War I by the UK and France. However, they are getting closer to one nation with every victory in the battlefield. In Iraq, Kurdish forces armed by both Iran and the US have taken perhaps 10,000 square miles from IS since last fall. They also snapped up the disputed city of Kirkuk, rich in oil and cultural significance to the Kurds and Arabs alike, and are preventing Arabs from returning to some villages. Houses are marked “Reserved for Kurds,” and Kurdish checkpoints declare, “No Arabs allowed”.
Continue reading at:
Independent Kurdistan taking shape?