Talk:Kurdistan

Map?

Google erases Kurdistan from maps in compliance with Turkish gov. Pashley (talk) 16:12, 28 December 2018 (UTC)

Edits

I agree with most of these edits, but the one I wonder about is about the relationship between Kurds and Armenians. Is there much substance to that? Ikan Kekek (talk) 20:07, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

I don't know about the modern-day relationship between Kurds and Armenia. But many Kurds participated in the Armenian Genocide, and a lot of modern-day Kurdistan is in historically Armenian lands, which were given to the Kurds by the Ottoman Empire after the Armenian Genocide. The dog2 (talk) 18:47, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

Right, the issue would be how people feel today. If we don't know, it was probably good to delete those remarks. Kurdish participation in the genocide is topical in the Armenian Genocide remembrance article. Ikan Kekek (talk) 22:36, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

Best known for alliances with the US?

I am confused by this addition by The dog2:

In modern times, the Kurds are mostly known in the West for their longstanding alliance with the United States, having assisted the Americans in their various wars in the Middle East.

In Iraq against Saddam Hussein (where they weren't an ally, just part of the uprising) and later against Daesh, but otherwise? I (a Westerner) learnt about them in connection with the conflict in Turkey, which I think has remained important and well-known. Against Daesh, they were not known to me as allies to the US, but as fighting the Daesh. Are there other conflicts where they have been allies with the US ("various" should be more than Iraq and Syria)? I also think they are well-known as one of the three groups between which power is distributed in Iraq (and for Iraqi Kurdistan being relatively secure and well-administered), and for the very democratic rule in Rojava. (Also: what is "modern times"? since Columbus?)

–LPfi (talk) 19:16, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

I was thinking more about Iraq and Syria. The U.S. hasn't gone to war with Iran or Turkey, so the Kurds there never had the opportunity to assist the U.S. in a war against the governments. But the Kurds fought alongside the Americans in both Iraq wars, and also in the war against Assad in Syria. The dog2 (talk) 19:49, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

The question is whether these alliances are what the Kurds are best known for, as that's what is claimed. In the First Gulf War (1990) US called for an uprising, and the Kurds and Shias thought the time to displace Saddam Hussein was come, but were let down. They weren't formal allies with the USA in any sense. I don't know about them having taken part in the 2003 invasion. Anyway, I don't think the alliances are what the Kurds are known for, except perhaps in the USA. –LPfi (talk) 20:25, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

OK, I've adjusted the sentence. The dog2 (talk) 21:40, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

It still says they're known for their "longstanding alliance with the United States." That's misleading. Kurds have been happy to get help from wherever it was offered, but they have continued to be used and betrayed by the U.S. and Israel, most recently by Trump in Syria, and LPfi pointed out that the PKK is fighting against a NATO member and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., among other governments. How about if we delete that sentence? This is a travel guide, not a place for glancing blows in political arguments. Ikan Kekek (talk) 22:14, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

OK then. I know the Kurds have tensions with Turkey, but I didn't realise that the U.S. called a Kurdish group a terrorist organisation. I'll delete the sentence then. The dog2 (talk) 22:26, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

I strongly support removing that sentence. Let's not get carried away by Western propaganda, please. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta) 08:01, 17 May 2023 (UTC)