Observer says US policy in Syria, Iraq bound to fail
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The US policy in both Syria and Iraq is bound to fail, as the US’ sanctions have failed to topple the Syrian government and it has also failed to secure control of Iraq after the 2003 war, said Michael Jansen, observer of Middle East affairs, on Monday.
In an opinion article published on Gulf Today, Jansen criticized the contradiction included in the Policy adopted by the US regarding the situation in Syria and Iraq, especially the Kurds.
“Washington’s Kurd policy suffers from internal contradictions,” Jansen said. “Having favoured the Iraqi and Syrian secessionist Kurds, the US has stuck by ally Ankara by branding as a ‘terrorist organisation’ the insurgent Turkish Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), which has battled the Turkish military for nearly 40 years.” Jansen described the abovementioned position of the US as “a paradoxical policy” because, he added, “the PKK is the font of Kurdish separatism and its Turkish imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan is seen as the leader of this struggle.”
The writer pointed out that the US is backing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) “to divide and undermine the Syrian state.” It also supported the Iraqi Kurdish uprising – led by Mustafa Barzani – to divide and weaken Iraq under Saddam Hussein. However, on the opposite, it designates the PKK that is active on the Turkish territory as a terrorist group for struggling against Turkey – its NATO ally.
“While Washington is willing and ready to undermine and divide Arab countries by supporting separatism, the US is firmly behind NATO ally Turkey in its ruthless suppression of its Kurds, who constitute the largest Kurdish community in the region,” Jansen noted.
He indicated that the US was wrong-footed when the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) went too far by voting for full independence on Sept. 25, 2017. “The vote precipitated fighting with the Iraqi armed forces which resulted in the Kurds’ loss of Kirkuk and its oil fields.”
“Conceived US projects in this region are bound to fail. The US failed to secure control of Iraq after the 2003 war. Instead, Washington handed over Iraq to Iran’s Shia acolytes. Rebels, jihadis and US-sanctions have also failed to topple the Syrian government which has been backed by Iran and Russia. While pursuing its projects the US has damaged Iraq, Syria, and the Kurds and killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of innocents,” Michael Jansen concluded.