The Kurdish–Turkish conflict involves the Turkish suppression of various Kurdish insurgent groups which have long demanded separation from Turkey in order to create an independent Kurdistan. Other Kurdish factions within and from outside of Turkey have demanded everything from full autonomy to greater political and cultural rights inside the Republic of Turkey. The Turks are battling these insurgents that occupy Northern Syria and Southern Turkey. The insurgents are known as the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK (Kurdish translation: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan). These insurgents have carried out attacks in many regions of Turkey, Iraq's Kurdistan Region, from which it has also launched attacks, and have necessitated maneuvers by the Turkish military including frequent ground incursions and air and artillery strikes. The Turkish tab related to these skirmishes has now exceeded $500,000,000,000.00. The situation is complicated by concerns about Turkey's management of ISIS prisoners of war and Turkey's "ally" status as a member of NATO.
Understand, this is a continuation of an ongoing conflict dating back to the Ottoman Empire, its fall and the resulting failure to carve out a Kurdish homeland for the more than twenty five million ethnic Kurds at the end of World War I. This is not now … and never has been our fight. Our alliance with the Kurds was not conditioned upon siding with them against a NATO ally in their war for independence. Additionally, ISIS was occupying the area(s) inhabited by the Kurds and consequently, were vested stakeholders in war on ISIS. Not to put too fine a point on it … but, the notion that the Kurds were 'helping' us is somewhat on its head.
This is simply one of those irreconcilable conflicts in the region that we are incapable of resolving and are precluded from militarily siding with the Kurds against our NATO ally. While I have no issue with warning the Turks against civilian casualties and slaughter of innocents, I agree with the President's decision to withdraw from the region and abhor those peaceniks turned war hawks out of hatred for the current administration. Candidly, I am tired of subsidizing their disingenuously unprincipled behavior and self-destructive emotional outbursts with the lives of the sons of my friends and neighbors, my tax dollars … and my patience.
I know that I am not alone ...