Why The United States Should Support An Independent Kurdistan

The Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world that do not have their own independent state to call home. They are different from other Muslims because they are not ethnically Arab or Persian. The Kurds are Sunni Muslims and have their own religious differences and speak their own language, Kurdish. This goes all the way back to World War I and the breaking up of the Ottoman Empire. The Kurdish people are instead spread out between four different states where they are a minority; Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The Kurdish people have been pushing for an independent Kurdistan ever since they were promised on after World War I. They have tried to accomplish this through a few different ways (Who are the Kurds, 2016).
One of the biggest ways
that the Kurdish people are trying to get an independent state is through allying to fight against ISIS. The Kurdish people are one of the United States biggest allies in the Middle East in the fight against the Islamic State. The Islamic State has made advances in both Iraq and Syria against the Kurdish people and the Kurds have fought back to keep their land. The Kurds believe that if they keep the fight against the Islamic State and ally with the United States, they may be able to gain an independent Kurdistan (Who are the Kurds, 2016) (Hume, 2016).
Even though the Kurds in the Middle East have a positive alliance with the United States over the fight against the Islamic State, their relationship with U.S. ally, Turkey, is more complicated. The Turkey government has a history of oppression against its own Kurdish people. Turkey was the state that was transformed after World War I and took the place of an independent Kurdistan. The Kurds in Turkey had created the Kurdistan Workers’ Party which was eventually banned by the Turkish government. The Turkish government also sees the Syrian Kurds, also known as the People’s Protection Units, as terrorist while the Syrian Kurds are one of the United States most valuable allies in the fight against the Islamic State. What makes Turkey’s alliance with the Kurds interesting is when you move to Iraq. The Turkish government supports the Kurds in northern Iraq, called the Kurdistan Regional Government. Why is Turkeys’ relationship with the Syrian Kurds so different with the Iraqi Kurds and how does the relationship with the United States affect this? Will the Kurd’s alliances with the United States and Turkey help the Kurdish people gain an independent Kurdistan or will its differences with Turkey create a problem with Kurdistan development? By looking at the arguments for and against an independent Kurdistan, one can develop an educated opinion on if the Kurdish people should finally gain their own independent state (Hume, 2016).

Side One The biggest argument for an independent Kurdistan is the land in northern Iraq. The Iraqi Kurds have the easiest chance to gain an independent Kurdistan. Iraq is threatening to split into the pre-Iraq Sunni, Shia and Kurdish divisions that were there during the Ottoman Empire (Weiss, 2012). The Iraqi Kurds are the only Kurds that have a positive relationship with both the United States and Turkey, the two biggest players in the Middle East. The United States gained this alliance in the Gulf War. During the war, not a single American soldier died within the borders of Iraqi Kurdistan. The importance of the alliance does not stop there. The northern Iraqi Kurds are pro-American, pro-Israel, and a semi-autonomous parliamentary democracy (Weiss, 2012). This intrigues the United States because those are traits that are extremely lacking in the Middle East. Turkey is also an ally of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq. Turkey has looked to help Iraqi Kurdistan in any way that it can. Turkey enjoys both economic and political ties with the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq. The Kurdistan Regional Government has created an important export market for Turkish products and is an important source of energy for Ankara. Why does Turkey get along so well with the Kurdish people so close to their borders? Turkey does not see the Kurdistan Regional Government as terrorists and says that the Iraqi Kurds do not have territorial aspirations in Turkey. This is what separates the Kurdistan Regional Government from the People’s Protection Units in Syria and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey (Hume, 2016). Many pro-Kurdistan journalists believe that the United States should look to encourage an independent Kurdistan. They believe that having a friendly, democratic and strategically-positioned ally in the Middle East is far more advantageous than the old thinking that an independent Kurdistan would create even more regional conflict in the Middle East. Supporters say that an independent is bound to happen and that the United States needs to jump on board (Weiss, 2016).
Side Two The other side of the argument lies with the United States’ alliance with Turkey and its problems with Turkish Kurds and Syrian Kurds. Turkey sees the People’s Protection Units and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party as terrorists that threaten to claim Turkish land. The Turks see the People’s Protection Units as an offshoot of the Turkish banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party. They are afraid that a strong movement in Syria could lead to Kurdish movements in Turkey for an independent Kurdistan. Turkey is not only fighting ISIS in Syria but also the People’s Protection Units.
The United States, on the other hand, sees the People’s Protection Units as an important ally in fighting ISIS in Syria. They draw a distinction between the People’s Protection Units and the Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party by providing support to Syrian Kurds. This creates tension between the United States and Turkey, two NATO allies in the fight against ISIS (Hume, 2016). Turkey has targeted Syrian Kurdish groups while the United States has urged them to stop. The Syrian Kurds have created a problem for United States and Turkey relations (Bacon, 2016). The Turks may have a reason to be so skeptical of a Syrian Kurdish movement. The Kurds see consolidating their territory as an important step to statehood. This is something that the Kurdish people have wanted since the carving up of the Ottoman Empire. They look to expand their territory by fighting against the Islamic State. By fighting against ISIS, the Kurds look to regain land that was disputed since the fall of the Ottoman Empire (In fight against IS, 2016). These Kurds look to correct ethnic wrongs done to them by their majority ruled countries. Many anti-Kurdistan journalists believe that an independent Kurdistan would create even more problems in the Middle East and that the United States should probably stay out of it (In fight against IS, 2016).
My Opinion I think that this issue can be resolved by better communication between the three groups. I find it strange how the United States considers the People’s Protection Units as an ally while Turkey sees them as a threat. Turkey says that the People’s Protection Units is an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and that the Syrian Kurds look to cause an uprising of Turkish Kurds. The Turks do not exactly have a clean history of humane treatment of its Kurdish people. I think that Turkey is just worried about losing some of their territory and rightfully so. I do however believe that it will happen sooner or later. The Turks have a good relationship with Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government because they believe that they have no ties to the Syrian Kurds or Turkish Kurds. I believe that the Kurdistan Regional Government does have interest in the Kurdish groups in Syria and Turkey, but do not want to make it known because they enjoy economic and political ties with Turkey. I think that if there will be an independent Kurdistan that it will be easier for it to develop out of Iraq. With Iraq’s instability and the Kurdistan Regional Government, an independent Kurdistan makes sense in northern Iraq. I think that the United States should support an independent Kurdistan.
The United States needs an ally in the Middle East that is also pro-Israel and democratic. Supporting an independent Kurdistan would improve the United States’ presence in the Middle East through having another vital ally in the fight against the Islamic State. The Kurds have proven that they can maintain the fight against ISIS. The only argument against an independent Kurdistan in the Middle East is the rise of more regional conflict in the Middle East. This has always been a problem in the Middle East since the carving up of the Ottoman Empire and will always be a problem. I think that it is true that it will cause a problem in the Middle East, but unlike our other campaigns in the area, we would benefit from this. Even if an independent Kurdistan movement seeks to take land from our ally Turkey, I believe that we should at least talk about it. The United States could have talks with Turkey about their Kurdish presence and how an independent Kurdistan could benefit them. An independent Kurdistan could create a buffer state between them and the Islamic State. Overall, I believe that the largest ethnic group in the world should have their own independent state to call home and that Free World should support them. I think that the benefits of an independent Kurdistan state out ways the problems that it may
cause.