Sent: Sunday, December 01, 2013 4:12 PM Subject: Anti-BHO "blasts" Continue -CCLVI [Kurdistan]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/188394875/anti-BHO-CCLVI

America Must Recognize Kurdistan Welcoming the Worlds 197th Nation Could Yield a Strong Democratic Ally
By Dr Robert B. Sklaroff and Dr Sherkoh Abbas

The United States should support the newborn non-Islamist entityKurdistanwhich established a provisional government in eastern Syria on November 12th. It is has militarily resisted entreaties to be absorbed by rebels dominated by al-Qaeda, and recognizing this independent entity could provide other non-Islamist elements a conduit through which a government could be established throughout Syria. Although others in the region might become irritated by such an initiative, providing a homeland for approximately 30,000,000 Kurds [the largest ethnic group on the globe without their own government] could provide America a stable ally in a tumultuous region. A briefing regarding the fundamental forces at-play may be acquired by reviewing Wikipedia [1] which lists the involved ethnic groups; the Middle East Forum [2] which provides a Turkish perspective; the New English Review [3] which analyzes how a post-Assad Syria could integrate Kurds and other minorities, and FrontPage Magazine [4] which provides an additional historical perspective. Also relevant are articles we wrote, both five years ago [5] when Kurds were accommodating themselves with the Iraqi government, and two months ago [6] when it was desirable to promote a paradigm which did not require America to support either Assad or the rebels. Finally, the legal underpinnings for an independent Kurdistan in this region were laid in the Treaty of Svres (August 10, 1920), the peace treaty concluded between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I [7]. The MEF piece notes While Turkey has shown its support for Kurdish autonomy in Syria and Iraq, within its own borders, Kurdish autonomy is still viewed as a threat, citing The continuing Kurdish problem in Turkey after Ocalan's capture [8]. Also, it recalls the 1991 entreaty of Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel (1991-93), who averred Turkey's border, flag, and official language cannot be debated, but ethnic groups [sic] demand to retain their own ethnic identity and culture should not be rejected They have their own history, language, and folklore. If they wish to develop them, let them do so. Last week, energy-hungry Turkey appeared near to having reached an agreement to import oil from Iraqi Kurdistan, strengthening the latter and reducing the energy needs of the former. Ankara's relations with the Kurds of northern Iraq were long encumbered by Turkey's battle with Kurdish separatists on its own soil but, in recent years, trade and political relations have flourished [9]. Nevertheless, the Kurdish Declaration of Autonomy in Syria was rejected by Turkey and the rebels [10]. Pivotal, therefore, is the need to vet leaders of this autonomy initiative, to ensure support would not be

rendered to terrorists. Throughout, also, the capacity to achieve incremental improvementrecalling that Turkeys Prime Minister Erdogan is an Islamistis desirable in this war-torn country. The Syrian Kurdish militia are dominated by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which controls much of northwestern Syria near the Turkish border; it has links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has conflicted with Ankara, but which is involved in peace-negotiations with the Turkish government [11]. The main opposition alliance is the Syrian National Coalition, dominated by Sunni Arabs; it blasted the Syrian-Kurd declaration, claiming it had been issued by hostile forces. This event is viewed as undermining efforts to maintain ties with the Kurds, during the two-and-a-half-year uprising against the regime of President Bashar Assad. Illustrative of this initiativewhich Kurds view as hollowis the fact that the Syrian National Council named a secular Kurdish dissident, Abdulbaset Sayda, as its leader last year. Nevertheless, the Kurds are alienated from the SNC, in large part due to clashes between the Kurds and Al-Qaeda loyalists aligned with the SNC. In any case, consonant with this paradigm is the announcement that Kurdish, Arab and Christian leaders had agreed to turn Syrian Kurdistan or Rojava into three semi-independent provincial areas, within a larger Kurdish autonomy in the northeast. Thus, despite their being in a hostile neighborhood, the Kurds are creating alliances with non-Islamists. Indeed, a recent piece in the widely-read Wall Street Journal [12] is supportive of this initiative, albeit recognizing ongoing challenges to its success. Those who lament the decision not to create an independent Kurdistan after the Gulf War (in lieu of the no-fly-zone) could now be vindicated by the creation of a Homeland for Kurds in Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey; far from providing sanctuary for cross-border attacks, this would allow for peaceful interaction between Syrian Kurds and those living in a Diaspora. And it would provide America a friend in the heart of this struggle between Assad and the Islamist-dominated rebels. These concerns should be a priority during next months peace talks in Geneva, which the opposition groups plan to attend, noting that More secure than a year ago from the mainly Sunni rebels, whose ranks are also swelled from abroad by an influx of Islamist jihadi fighters, Assad faces little internal pressure to make concessions to his enemies [13]. Citations: [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria. [2] http://www.meforum.org/3667/turkey-kurdish-problem. [3] http://www.newenglishreview.org/print.cfm?pg=custpage&frm=7937&sec_id=115831. [4] http://frontpagemag.com/2012/joseph-puder/syria-an-alternative-choice/. [5] http://www.israpundit.com/archives/53330 [6] http://www.israpundit.com/archives/57300 [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Sevres#Kurdistan [8] http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/ctwq/2000/00000021/00000005/art00009. [9] http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/30/us-turkey-iraqidUSBRE9AT09E20131130?feedType=RSS&virtualBrandChannel=11563 [10] http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/14112013. [11] http://gulftoday.ae/portal/727e42da-3933-4d22-ab5d-c48d9340e885.aspx

[12] http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304243904579199293973868658?mod =djemITP_h [13]- http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/27/us-syria-crisis-jarba-idUSBRE9AQ19C20131127

Dr. Sherkoh Abbas is president of the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria He may be contacted at sherkoh@gmail.com. Dr. Sklaroff is a hematologist, oncologist and internist. He may be contacted at rsklaroff@gmail.com. Their prior analysis of this issue (The Road To Iran Runs Through Kurdistan And Starts In Syria) was initially published on 4/15/2008 (http://www.doctor-bob.biz/AAPolitical%20Essays/Foreign%20Affairs/kurdistan.htm) and was reprinted on 3/6/2013 (http://www.israpundit.com/archives/53330). An extended-interview of Dr. Abbas (which includes elaborative demographic information) was published in June, 2012 [3].