To Win in Syria, America Must Rethink Its Kurdish Policy

by Giran Ozcan, the HDP representative in Washington. Read the full article at National Interest

"This crisis is symptomatic of a larger problem of regional strategy. Until now, American management of Turkey-SDF tensions has made three major mistakes: Privileging Turkey’s NATO history over Erdogan’s anti-Western turn, viewing Kurdish groups as military actors without the potential for political engagement, and separating the conflicts in Turkey and Syria despite their undeniable connections. Each of these failed assumptions is predicated on an outdated vision of the Middle East and the role that outside powers, including the United States, play in it. Each of them has also threatened America’s ability to achieve its stated goals in Syria. If the United States seeks to withdraw its forces from Syria while ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS and working towards a negotiated end to the eight-year conflict, these lessons of the “safe zone” crisis bring a new strategy to light.

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If the United States continues with this reductive view, it will miss out on the essential roles the Kurdish people can play in a realigning Middle East. Right now, there are about forty million Kurds living in four states crucial to regional politics: two million in Syria, six million in Iraq, twelve million in Iran and twenty million in Turkey. The most widespread political program among them today is based on secularism, women’s rights, and a vision of the state that does not exclude based on ethnicity or religion, but accommodates the region’s rich diversity through decentralization. The United States should commit to political engagement with the Kurdish groups that espouse these values across the region, and allow the successful military partnership with the SDF to serve as the beginning of a new strategy—not as a repeat of a failed one."