# Politics and News > World Affairs >  Why is Turkey Fighting Syrias Kurds?

## sargentodiaz

_The Kurdistan Workers Party, known by the Kurdish acronym PKK, was founded as a Marxist-Leninist group in Turkey in 1978 in response to state-backed discrimination against Turkish Kurds, with the goal of creating an independent Kurdistan. A PKK insurgency against the Turkish state began in 1984, and fighting between the two sides has continued intermittently ever since, accompanied by heavy-handed Turkish repression in Kurdish areas, resulting in the deaths of more than 40,000 people, a majority of them Kurdish civilians. The PKK, for its part, has focused its attacks on the Turkish military over the years, but it has also hit civilian targets. Turkey and the United States have both designated the PKK a terrorist organization._  And, according to this, the Kurds first emerged in the 10th century. A majority of Kurds belong to the Shafii school of Sunni Islam, but significant numbers practise Shia Islam and Alevism, while some are adherents of Yarsanism, Yazidism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity.  This then goes on to identify the SDF and its efforts to fight ISIS and avoiding being linked with the PKK. Turkey claims it is.  Worth reading to help understand whats going on in the region and why Syria is rushing to the aid of the Kurds in its territory.  Article @ https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/17...s-ypg-pkk-sdf/

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Old Ridge Runner (10-22-2019),riderboy (10-22-2019)

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## riderboy

Well, I'm glad the Kurds helped us defeat our common enemy, ISIS, which was spawned by Barack Obama's abrupt troop withdrawal from Iraq.  However, the PKK were paid mercenaries who are as you say a designated terrorist organization and responsible for attacks in Turkey, hardly choirboys.  At some point this is simply not our fight, it's not worth more dead Americans, and we should never have been there in the first place.

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Old Ridge Runner (10-22-2019),sargentodiaz (10-22-2019)

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## jirqoadai

that was FDRs policy in 1932........which evolved into a policy, " sorry we are late, but its gonna be done our way or we wont help you " in 1943

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Old Ridge Runner (10-22-2019)

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## Trinnity

Why? Territory. They've been fighting since 300 BC, not kidding. We owe them nothing, they got plenty from us already. It's over and it's over. We're outta there. Promised kept.

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## Swedgin

The Turks love committing genocide, that's why!

Always, have, always will.

That's just what they do....

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jirqoadai (10-22-2019)

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## Call_me_Ishmael

> _The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known by the Kurdish acronym PKK, was founded as a Marxist-Leninist group in Turkey in 1978 in response to state-backed discrimination against Turkish Kurds, with the goal of creating an independent Kurdistan. A PKK insurgency against the Turkish state began in 1984, and fighting between the two sides has continued intermittently ever since, accompanied by heavy-handed Turkish repression in Kurdish areas, resulting in the deaths of more than 40,000 people, a majority of them Kurdish civilians. The PKK, for its part, has focused its attacks on the Turkish military over the years, but it has also hit civilian targets. Turkey and the United States have both designated the PKK a terrorist organization._  And, according to this, the Kurds first emerged in the 10th century. A majority of Kurds belong to the Shafi‘i school of Sunni Islam, but significant numbers practise Shia Islam and Alevism, while some are adherents of Yarsanism, Yazidism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity.  This then goes on to identify the SDF and it’s efforts to fight ISIS and avoiding being linked with the PKK. Turkey claims it is.  Worth reading to help understand what’s going on in the region and why Syria is rushing to the aid of the Kurds in its territory.  Article @ https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/17...s-ypg-pkk-sdf/


There is ancient history and there are events in our lifetime. Perhaps the events in between are most relevant.  Mustafa Kemal Ataturk overthrew the sultan in 1922. He created a modern nation, a nation of secular laws, a nation giving rights to women, a nation suitable for inclusion into the modern Western world. All Turks had to adjust. The islamicists and former supporters of the sultan needed to adapt. The regular Turk needed to learn new alphabet and formal grammar. The new Republic of Turkey was being born.



The Kurds could have been part of this. Ataturk was creating a nation for all who would assimilate. The Kurds chose otherwise.

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sargentodiaz (10-22-2019)

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## Big Dummy

> The Turks love committing genocide, that's why!
> 
> Always, have, always will.
> 
> That's just what they do....


100% correct. May I add that the Turks have genocide as policy for anyone that is not their kind of muslim.

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jirqoadai (10-22-2019)

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## sargentodiaz

> There is ancient history and there are events in our lifetime. Perhaps the events in between are most relevant.  Mustafa Kemal Ataturk overthrew the sultan in 1922. He created a modern nation, a nation of secular laws, a nation giving rights to women, a nation suitable for inclusion into the modern Western world. All Turks had to adjust. The islamicists and former supporters of the sultan needed to adapt. The regular Turk needed to learn new alphabet and formal grammar. The new Republic of Turkey was being born.
> 
> 
> 
> The Kurds could have been part of this. Ataturk was creating a nation for all who would assimilate. The Kurds chose otherwise.


And that modern Turkey is being dragged back into the darkness of the 8th century.

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## Call_me_Ishmael

> And that modern Turkey is being dragged back into the darkness of the 8th century.


No doubt Erdoğan would like the power of an undemocratic Sultan. And he has islamicist tendencies. But the people will not go backwards. The people voted for Erdoğan because he moved the country forward. (I can provide examples of contrast between 1975 and 2012.) Now how much Islamic law will they allow him to interject into their government?  He is patient and is well aware how to boil a frog. But Turks are not passive people. They tried a coup a few years ago. And they will try one again if his leadership fails the country.

I think they - the people and Erdoğan - will meet in the middle. His real threats are the left. So he may ease up on the secular nationalists (the Kemalists) and the military and focus on the leftists, including the leftists who are also Kurds. 

In any case, I don't see "8th century" in a country that has more (or as much) wireless connectivity in both cities and countryside than my upstate NY county. 
But ... yeah....  as much as I love Turkey, having lived and traveled extensively there in both 1975 and 2012, I would not feel safe there now. Either Erdoğan's Gestapo or Arab sympathetic American-haters or wacked out anarchist socialists or ... crazy women.... I'll pass.

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Big Dummy (10-22-2019)

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## Midgardian/Piru

Why is Turkey fighting? Thanksgiving is approaching.

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