As the battle against ISIS continues in the east, the political leadership of Syrian Kurdistan – the Democratic Union Party (PYD) – is quietly building a miniature state in northern Syria, or “Rojava” in Kurdish, based on the unique ideology of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Rethinking the U.S. Alliance with Kurdish Fighters in Syria | James Jeffrey, Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey
The U.S. must rethink relations with its highly problematic but effective ally in the ISIS fight – the Syrian Kurdish PYD – but focus on equities with Turkey as well as the overall U.S. mission in the region, facing Russian-assisted Iranian expansion.
Leftist Secularism Faces Uncertain Future in Kurdish Rojava | Amberin Zaman, Columnist, Al Monitor
"It’s too early to pass judgment on how successful the PYD model has been. First of all, it’s operating in a vacuum, it’s a conflict situation so people are far more tolerant of everything that doesn’t work as long as they receive security and some basic services. For as long as we’re in a conflict situation, we have no ways of measuring the success or lack thereof of this model."
Turkey’s political and military leadership convenes today to discuss retaliation against Iraqi Kurds if they go through with their independence referendum slated for Monday, Sept. 25. Options on the table include military action and commercial sanctions. Turkey is reportedly considering cross-border military action as deep as 50 miles into Iraqi Kurdistan in addition to the ongoing air strikes against militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) based in the region. Ankara is also weighing closing Turkish airspace to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), slowing down KRG oil exports through Turkey, curbing energy sales, withholding trade and tightening supervision over KRG President Massoud Barzani’s companies in Turkey.
Meanwhile Iraq’s President Fuad Masum visited Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday to discuss the upcoming referendum. Abadi rejected a Masum-sponsored reconciliation plan with the KRG on the grounds that it did not reject Kurdistan’s right to hold an independence referendum.