http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28925179

"In short, the answer is - by and large - no. The West is officially
arming only the Iraqi Kurds, even though Kurdish groups from Syria and
Turkey affiliated with a US-designated terrorist group - the Kurdistan
Worker's Party (PKK) - are playing an equally, if not more critical,
role in the fight against IS."

"The YPG has been exceptionally successful in fighting IS, in many cases
outperforming the Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).

While IS, formerly known as Isis, has made alarming gains against
FSA-aligned groups, the YPG has successfully ousted the jihadist group
from Kurdish towns and cities.

But Mr Barzani in Iraqi Kurdistan has one thing that Ocalan does not:
widespread international legitimacy and relatively stable relations with
the West.

Perhaps that is why the KDP has expressed its unease with the
increasingly prominent role of the PKK-affiliated forces in fighting IS
in Iraq and rescuing thousands of Yazidi civilians trapped on Mt Sinjar."

"Some KDP officials have downplayed the role of the YPG and PKK fighters
in these efforts. Yet, according to the testimonies Yazidis who escaped
Mt Sinjar, and numerous journalists who visited the mountain, YPG and
PKK fighters have played an enormously important part in the rescue and
protection efforts."

"The problem is not a matter of weapons… it's about the will to resist."

"The YPG helped re-secure the Rabia border crossing in June after the
Iraqi army - and reportedly some Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga - fled their
posts. "

On 11/04/2014 02:26 PM, Amir Taaki wrote:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdistan_Democratic_Party#Allegations_of_corruption.2C_authoritarianism.2C_state_murder
>
> "A State Department cable leaked by Wikileaks, meant as an overview of
> the political landscape in Iraqi Kurdistan for diplomats, noted that
> "The KDP consists of family clans, operating very much like a mafia
> organization."
>
> they have been trying to marginalise and squeeze out the anarchist kurds
> while making deals with turkey:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Union_Party_%28Syria%29
>
> in kobane, the PYD has been needing heavy weaponry and to allow their
> fighters to pass from their other cantons. recently turkey "allowed"
> fighters from the KDP peshmerga (nation-state wannabe and turkey ally)
> to pass to help "defend" kobane.
>
> here is text from the manifesto of the PYD:
>
> "The democratic confederalism of Kurdistan is not a State system, it is
> the democratic system of a people without a State... It takes its power
> from the people and adopts to reach self sufficiency in every field
> including economy."
>
> On 11/04/2014 02:18 PM, Amir Taaki wrote:
>> http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/03/privacy-gchq-spying-robert-hannigan
>>
>> “I suspect most ordinary users of the internet are ahead of them: they
>> have strong views on the ethics of companies, whether on taxation, child
>> protection or privacy; they do not want the media platforms they use
>> with their friends and families to facilitate murder or child abuse.”
>>
>> meanwhile in the middle east:
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JrqfJ67GUM
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVISyjFwXAU
>> http://www.catholic.org/news/international/middle_east/story.php?id=56481
>>
>> "In the same piece, Hannigan says Isis differs from its predecessors in
>> the security of its communications, presenting an even greater challenge
>> to the security services."
>>
>> they're loving it. isis is a great opportunity.
>> turkey tacitly supports IS militias, and there's strong forces within
>> the kurds to coopt their movement for state-agenda serving the regional
>> and global powers such as the KRG which is suppressing other kurdish
>> groups against popular will and making deals with turkey.
>>
>> it was western governments actions that have directly led to ISIS, and
>> western governments are not bothered about really neutralising them
>> insofar as they serve various agendas. this talk of attacking our
>> liberty to save us is sickening to hear because of how bland the
>> two-facedness is.
>>
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