Kurdistan: Kurdish Statelessness

Nevertheless, the Kurds believe that the threat of intolerant Shiite Arabs coming into power requires a formidable response to ensure their security (Source C). Even though the foreign affairs pose a threat to the Kurds,

Iraq is very attractive to colonizers due to its high amounts of oil and other natural resources. this made it the perfect target for a post world war one great britain, who needed oil to supply their machinery and troops after they had used so much of it. after the ottoman empire fell after WWI, Iraq became a mandate of the British empire in 1919 and was used primarily for oil and gas. when they took over many arab states after the ottomans, they drew random borders, which mixed ethnicities and beliefs. This resulted in many conflicts between cultures, the kurds and sunnis, and made life for many in the country hard. The anti colonial movement began the next year in 1920, during the Iraqi revolts, which were

Since his book focuses so strongly on the conflicts of the Balkans, Dadrian is able to concentrate much of his argument on the basis that the Turks used to war, both the Balkan wars and World War I, as a way of hiding the deportations and the slaughters of the Armenian people that eventually lead to genocide. Here Dadrian excels against his fellow three scholars who have not centered their arguments as heavily around this detail. Dadrian discusses the Ottoman Empire's long history of power and war and how the Ottomans used this as a way to hide their violent actions. Through the use of the Balkan War conflicts the Armenian Question was slowly formed in order to deal with the massive population of Armenians in the Ottoman territory. The Ottomans who were unable to separate to separate religion from their state affairs and eventually dragged the Armenians into these issues. Through harsh and unreasonable forms of victimization, the Turks began to take out their frustration on the Armenian population for their losses and hardships. the hatred of the Armenians steadily grew as reforms were formed in order to rid the land of the

In this paper, I will argue that the United States should accept more Syrian refugees by analyzing Miller and Kukathas’ arguments to reach the conclusion that Kukathas makes a more convincing argument because the freedom of movement argument and the humanity obligations of the United States outweigh the risks of a threatened cultural identity and economic state. The Syrian refugee crisis started in March of 2011 when anti-government groups began to protest against the government. These protests quickly became violent as the government turned to armed opposition groups to quiet the rebellion. This violence has created chaos in Syria as human rights are being violated everywhere and necessities are becoming scarce. There is no sign of an end approaching as the death toll reaches over 250,000. Syrians are escaping after seeing the destruction around their homes from airstrikes and bombings, killing many friends and family members. The U.N. estimates, a potential 11 million people are displaced, fleeing to nearby countries with refugee camps or Europe in hopes to gain citizenship. The journey to escape Syria is not an easy one with the threat of snipers and kidnappings for young men to fight for either cause. The need for aid continues to grow as humanitarian organizations attempt to keep up.

In 1991, a series of uprisings in Iraq turned into multiple rebellions in Northern and Southern Iraq started the “Kurdish War”. Millions of men,women and children were killed by the war. This was a genocide because this behavior resulted in torture devices, chemical

Long time ago, the deep religious splits between Shi’ites and Sunnis as well as the racial separations between Arabs, Kurds, and other minorities such as Christians and Turkmens people shaped a growing level of violence between citizens in Iraq. The greatest threat to Iraqis has

Following the creation of Iraq in 1932, the Iraqi government has continued to this day to check any Kurdish advancement in the political spectrum. The Iraqi government uses many tactics to do this including cultural discernment, murder, and genocide (“Prejudice in Iraq” 9). In the 1960s the Iraqi Kurdish Democratic Party (IKDP) led by Mustafa al-Barzani led a failed insurgency against the newly established Ba’ath Party(“Kurd” 4; “Prejudice in Iraq” 10). The repercussions of which resulted in the deaths of sixty thousand people and forced hundreds of thousands to leave their decimated villages. In the mid-1970s another resistance formed that included Iranian support. But after an agreement between Iraq and Iran, the Kurdish opposition crumbled (“Kurd” 4) resulting in over 200,000 Kurds displaced. Iraq also sent captured Kurds to concentration camps and destroyed their villages (Goldman

US support and agendas within the Middle East have been extremely complicated in the last century. Starting with the backing of the Shah of Iran in the early 1950s to the present-day conflict in Syria, there appears to be no decision without adverse secondary and tertiary effects. Since the Persian Gulf War, US policy has been fully supportive of the Arabs and Turks while limiting official support for the Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. Nevertheless, unofficially, the US has fully supported the Kurds militarily through the establishment of long-term partnerships between military forces. While always a point of contention with Turkey and the Government of Iraq (GOI), the recent increase in support for Kurdish forces in Syria to oppose the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) brought the issue to the forefront. The time for US policy to withhold support for the Kurds is past due to their critical role in the campaign against ISIL. The US attempted to establish a coalition amongst the Turks and the Arabs but this has largely failed to turn the tide of ISIL’s advance. However, following the consistent successes of the Kurds advance wresting control of northeastern Syria away from ISIL, it is a foregone conclusion that the US requires an alliance with the Kurds if they wish to establish some semblance of stability in the Middle East. In the end, can the US ethically and morally provide support to the Kurds, ignoring requests from US allies in the region?

The sharing of the horrifying image across social media of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi’s dead body washed up on a beach in Turkey has brought the Syrian’s plight into the eyes of the entire world. Thousands of desperate men, women, and children make illegal and unsafe journeys across entire oceans just to get away from the ongoing conflict that is occurring in their home country. In view of the root of this horrible situation, one observes events dating back to 2011, when pro-democracy protests began throughout the country of Syria. These protests displayed the anger prevalent among the Syrian people against President Bashar Al-Assad’s authoritarian government. The attempt by President Bashar Al-Assad to suppress the numerous protests with

The Al-Anfal genocide ended late in 1988, at around the same time as Iraq's war with Iran. Since then, despite some of the long lasting effects such as reproductive problems thought to be caused by the chemical attacks inflicted upon it, the Kurdistan region of Iraq, currently has a population of about 5.2 million, made up of a combination of kurdish, Assyrian, Arab, Chaldean, Armenian and Turkish people.​

Turkey is a Middle Eastern country located next to Syria, Armenia, Iraq, and Georgia. It is also an ethnically diverse country because of it’s being located near Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Another fact is that almost everyone in Turkey is Muslim. Therefore, Islam is the base of most of the customs that people follow in Turkey. Two of the most prevalent social problems in Turkey are racism and sexism. A further, one of the social problems in Turkey is their relationship with one of their neighboring countries, Armenia. Learning about the relationships between the people of Turkey amongst themselves and their neighboring countries is a proficient way of learning about their culture.

SOCIALLY, following the war with Iran in 1988, Iraq was ranked 50 in the 1990 UNDP Human Development Index, which measures national success in education, GDP, and health. Iraq was nearing the top of the middle range of countries in regard to the implementation of basic social services and infrastructure. However, under Saddam’s rule, the prosecution of Shiites and Kuwaitis was a normal occurrence. Called by some a genocide, the period of murder, terror, and persecution faced by these groups was the foundation for a long-lasting unrest within the hearts and minds of Iraqi citizens. The rest of the Iraqi citizens, however, lived normal, comfortable lives. In the late 20th century, many traveled from afar to utilize and learn from Iraq’s intricate network of hospitals and social centers regarded as the best in the region. (CIA 2) However, constant war drained Iraq’s wealth and decimated its people. In the Iraq-Iran War, Saddam Hussein unwillingly forced Iraq into a disastrous attempt to overthrow the Islamist government in Iran. When the dust settled, over 200,000 Iraqis were dead, and more than twice this number were wounded. Iraq’s increasing debt, nearing about 75 Billion, soon had the Arab

Turkey's key internal conflict centers on the role of its large Kurdish minority, ethnically and linguistically distinct, in a state that constitutionally consists of Turks.

Kurdistan is a region that has existed in turmoil and is the “never was” country. The Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group of the Middle East, numbering between 20 and 25 million. Approximately 15 million live in the regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, an area they called Kurdistan, yet they do not have a country of their own. Formal attempts to establish such a state were crushed by the larger and more powerful countries in the region after both world wars. When the Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I, the Kurds were promised their own independent nation under the Treaty of Sevres. In 1923 however, the treaty was broken allowing Turkey to maintain its status and not allowing the Kurdish people to have a nation to call

In recent years, the Iraqi nation has endured a crisis that will forever remain in the hearts and minds of the Middle Eastern culture. However, the outcomes of the War on Iraq will not change the long-lasting and passionate traditions and memories that have been held in the country for decades. One major event that happened in Iraq’s history is that on October 3, 1932 Iraq was established as an independent nation. Iraq has always been a country in which respect and generosity have been highly valued and play an important cultural role in everyday life. Additionally, approximately ninety-five percent of Iraqis are Muslim, and therefore Islam is the official religion of this nation (Gutierrez 1). Furthermore, Iraq is a