Derek Wall for Open Democracy (29 September 2014): Another reason for doubting the [dominant] narrative [regarding the US and its allies return to Iraq to fight ISIS] is the fact that the most successful opponents of ISIS are not only unsupported by the west but are effectively at war with a NATO ally. If the war on terror was real, the words Kobane, Rojava and YPG would be on our TV screens more often than a marriage date with George Clooney. In fact, few of us have much knowledge of the forgotten war in the Middle East. This is a war that ISIS, up until a few days ago, was losing. But a NATO country has joined to help defeat not the jihadist beheaders, but their most feared opponents. As I write, the city of Kobane in the mostly Kurdish city in northern Syria is under threat from ISIS, who have laid siege to the city for over a fortnight. ISIS forces from all over the region, equipped with tanks and missiles stolen from Iraqi forces supplied by Qatar and the USA, have sustained a huge attack on this city on the border of Turkey. You wont hear about Kobane on much of the media and not so far in speeches from Obama and Cameron. These are the Kurds the west does not support, and mentioning their very existence is virtually an existential threat.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 09:42:12 +0000