Save the Last Bullet for Yourself

Virtually every YPG fighter has a rule: Save the last bullet for yourself. In the war against ISIS, which they call the Daash, it is far better to choose your own way out rather than be captured by the jihadists and their so-called Islamic State. One source on the ground in Rojava (Kurdish-held Syria) told me […]

Turkey, the Great Pretender

Kurdish protests have been taking place recently in Turkey regarding the country’s inadequate response against ISIS, and the lack of support for Kurdish fighters in the town of Kobane, Syria. The protests were peaceful in contrast with the riots of October, which resulted in the death of more than 30 civilians—most killed by protesters fighting with […]

Limited US Airstrikes Authorized in Northern Iraq

On August 7, President Obama announced from the White House that, in light of the plight of the Yezidi refugees on Sinjar Mountain, and the advance of ISIS onto the Ninewa Plain toward Erbil, he has authorized American airstrikes specifically in support of humanitarian relief operations for the Yezidi refugees, and to protect American personnel […]

Other Dimensions of the ISIS Offensive

Questions have arisen as to just how ISIS could take Mosul, Tikrit, and Bayji, and now Taji as well, according to Rudaw, while hardly firing a shot. While conspiracy-mongering is par for the course in the Middle East, making Maliki’s claims of betrayal sound initially suspect, names are beginning to come up that make the […]

Kurds in Syria Declare Autonomy

The Kurds have been a third side to the Syrian civil war since the beginning.  While the majority of the conflict appears to be turning primarily into a Sunni-Shi’a slugging match, with overtones of proxy war between Iran and Russia on one side and Saudi Arabia and Qatar (with some half-hearted support from the West–SecState […]