TURKEY | A Syria Invasion?

Over the course of 2022, fears have grown that Turkey is preparing to launch an invasion of Syria. If so, it will be its fourth in total, and its most major incursion since October 2019. These concerns have risen following a terrorist attack in Istanbul, in November 2022, that the Turkish Government has pinned on the PKK and its Syrian Partners, the PYD and YPG. But while Ankara looks poised to launch another attack, it has faced calls for restraint from the United States, Russia and Iran. All this once again draws international attention to Turkey's long-standing conflict with the Kurds, a conflict that has now been running for almost 40 years.
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The conflict between Turkey (which has officially changed its name to Türkiye, but remains widely known as Turkey) and the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, is one of the most serious and long-running insurgencies of modern times. Since it started in 1984, it has led to tens of thousands of deaths. It has also spread into neighbouring countries. Over the years, the Turkish Army has staged numerous incursions into norther Iraq, where the PKK has established bases. However, the conflict has now also extended into neighbouring Syria. As the country descended into civil war, Kurdish forces have managed to establish their own region - the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), better known as Rojava. But will Turkey really invade? And why are the United States and other NATO partners so concerned?
CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction and Titles
00:43 Turkey, the Kurds and International Insurgencies
01:33 The Emergence of the Kurdish Issue
03:01 The PKK and the Kurdish Issue in Turkey
06:10 The Syrian Civil War and Kurdish Rojava
07:42 The Kurds and the Rise of Islamic State
10:22 Will Turkey Invade Syria (Again)?
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International Relations, Conflict and Security in the Middle East / watch
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FURTHER READING & USEFUL SOURCES
Turkish Foreign Ministry www.mfa.gov.tr/default.en.mfa
Vice | Rojava: Syria’s Unknown War • Rojava: Syria's Unknow...
US Treasury | Sanctions on Turkey over Syria home.treasury.gov/policy-issu...
Rojava Information Centre | rojavainformationcenter.com
International Crisis Group | Turkey's PKK Conflict www.crisisgroup.org/content/t...
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KEYWORDS
#Turkey #Kurds #Syria
#InternationalPolitics #CurrentAffairs #internationalrelations
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[@JamesKerLindsay]

This is an issue that has been bubbling away in the background for much of this year, but has become all the more prominent since a major terrorist attack in Istanbul in November. But do you think Turkey really launch a major ground offensive? I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments below.

[@54032Zepol]

I've been following this since turkey invaded Syria to attack the ypg and is was twisted to make the ypg look like freedom fighters attacking isis held Syria were themselves being attacked by a foreign nation.

[@Remake5182]

It depends, seeing how Russia is facing heat, it might be a bad idea.

[@ozgurcelik14]

In 1997 the IRGC General Qassem Soleimani gave the PKK a safehaven in the Qandil mountains. Today the senior leadership like Murat Karayilan, Mustafa Karasu, Bese Hozat and Cemily Bayik are all protected by Iran within Iran. You should mention these facts too. The PKK has absolutely zilch to do with Kurdish rights and independence, it is an arm of the IRGC that is at war with NATO, the PKK leadership don't disguise this in their regular speeches.

[@aflacseacatafeoxsokoya2529]

First of all, Turkey won't invade Syria. You've already known this. Secondly, There is no Kurdish-Turkish war. 10 million Kurds live in Turkey as equal Turkish citizen. Thirdly, when Saddam attacked Kurds, Turkiye welcomed and saved them from Iraq. On the other hand, ypg-sdf etc are just a terror organization which was established by criminal state of US..Isıs was US puppet too. Same for these proxy terrorist. We didn't invade Syria but. USA AND these terrorists invaded Syrian lands and committed genocide. USA is stealing SYRIAN OIL THROUGH THIS criminals. You are just a bad person. You aren't uneducated.. You are just a liar.

[@eternalbluesky6802]

james real problem is they are not random terorists they are american proxy fighters that why usa punishing turkey they get aid they get paid get they get respect from usa so funny this thing usa sanc to turkey for them (nato member)

[@pricklycactus8696]

Put yourself in Turkey's shoes for a moment: you have a militant group whose leader was directly involved with what is effectively viewed by the Turkish population similarly to how the people in the US perceives al-Qaeda. This group, the YPG, idolizes Ocalan (in our analogy, he'd be Bin Laden), was initially an offshoot of the PKK (al-Qaeda, in our analogy), and shares undeniable ties to it even today. How would anyone in the US accept a neighboring state that waves flags with pictures of Bin Laden on them? The very notion is ridiculous. Framing this as a Kurdish-Turkish conflict is irresponsible. Turkey has decent relations with Iraqi Kurdistan because they have no association with the PKK. The same cannot be said for the YPG. The existence of a state directly bordering your own that is run by a group you deem to be terrorists would be unacceptable to any sovereign nation. How come "the west" is able to intervene in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya with absolutely no proximity to their own borders, and with zero repercussions, but Turkey cannot intervene in what it views as an existential threat lest they face brutal sanctions by their so-called allies? There is no solution to be found to the Kurdish question in Turkey with groups associated with the PKK. This much, the current Turkish administration has decided on following the collapse of the peace process in 2015. No degree of rebranding and whitewashing can fix this. Incidentally, this is why many Turks and Kurds have a problem with the HDP. Pictures of MP's standing beside PKK militants... and they're expected to represent every Kurd in Turkey? Unbelievable. Ocalan is not a freedom fighter. He is not an intellectual. He does not represent the Kurdish struggle for autonomy. He is a murderer, plain and simple. He has single handedly held back the Kurdish majority regions in Turkey (via the brutal conflict), and caused untold damage to the very people he claims to fight for. There is no redemption for this man or any permutation of his ideology. Terrorism is no way to solve an issue of racial or ethnic rights. Any future Kurdish movements must make a clean break from the PKK and Ocalan in order to not be undermined by the Turkish state. Associating with him or his ideals is unacceptable for any group claiming to want to further the Kurdish cause in Turkey. You've mentioned in many of your replies pleading to not racialize this issue where you claim that this is how it's perceived elsewhere (i.e. "the west"). Ask yourself this: why do I perceive it as such? Is it because people claiming to represent all Kurds protest in squares waving PKK flags and Ocalan's face? Is it because you've read news articles feeding off (implicit) islamophobia, fetishizing how the YPG "are the US' most loyal ally against IS in Syria"? Maybe it was an article exalting the YPG's virtues written by a think tank funded by the Pentagon, co-opted by naive journalists falling for the admittedly effective rebranding of the YPG as being sufficiently different from the PKK to give them a pass? Large swathes of Kurdish communities in the west are known to be pressured by the PKK and radicalized. The PKK has a documented presence in western Europe. How is it that some muslim teens who grew up in Birmingham ended up fighting for or sympathizing with IS? Is it really impossible for the same to happen to parts of the Kurdish diaspora, who left Turkey or other nations with Kurdish minorities when their oppression was much more brutal? Would they not be raised by hate, hyperbole and contemporary falsehoods-the same way those teens in Birmingham were? I recall in secondary school in Britain when people around the school found out I was Turkish, two Kurdish boys from two grades up made a concerted effort to find out who I was and then proceed to incessantly bully me. I had no hatred for them-I didn't even know them-but they despised me. At that moment I observed, first hand, how some of the Kurdish diaspora had been poisoned by this hatred. I have no doubt those two very nice boys (/s) are on Twitter sharing hashtags about freeing Rojava right now. The very same type of trauma that forced the west to intervene in the above-mentioned regions from islamic radical attacks like 9/11, 7/7, or Bataclan is what Turkey has been facing since 1984. This is the same type of trauma that makes a country seek to pit a terrorist organization that has no problem with them (PKK et al) against ones that do (IS et al)-long term consequences to neighboring nations be damned! It was a stupid decision by the Pentagon, and it continues to ruin US relations with Turkey. However, let's not pretend it wasn't a decision made with selfish interests: not out of a genuine desire to help the Kurds, but to instead use them as cannon-fodder. When the YPG inevitably decides that the west is also their enemy, we'll see just how "democratic" they really are. I am just sick and tired of the constant gaslighting of Turkey and its people by this notion that the PKK and YPG are somehow distinct entities. I don't think you made this analysis with any kind of malice, but at least acknowledge just how biased this analysis really was. Your sources biased, and so are mine-I just don't pretend to be fair or balanced. These were my two cents.

[@eget4144]

@Prof James Ker-Lindsay any answer to this comment?

[@soulsirius]

This comment is far more informative than Professor's. Thanks a lot my friend.

[@kekkek3358]

I think video does a good job on explaining turkey's concerns and reasons, and never in the video ypg's relation to pkk is denied, and video further says many observers report ypg's relation to pkk.

[@youssefhamdy6008]

Very nice explanation of the situation. I heard about the Istanbul attack and it's funny that when Bush invaded Iraq there wasn't anyone saying he's using it for elections and all that, but when Erdogan does the same thing, they say "Oh look! He's doing it for elections." Just goes to show that everyone has their own insensitive internal biases. I'm not saying he is or isn't, only God and him know his motives. I'm just saying that no one did the same thing when 9/11 happened and this shows the hypocrisy of the west to control the narrative according to their own liking but not their moral values like they presume. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and supplying Saudi Arabia with weapons in Yemen (But oh no, the Kurds in Syria. You're going to kill thousands.) These are all examples of when it was okay to "kill thousands" in Trump's own words. (over a million deaths in Iraq or Afghanistan I don't remember according to some sources.)

[@halili.krlangc1327]

Well said.

[@mbilalgoker]

Video title is a bit provocative. Calling this a Turkish Kurdish war is an oversimplification of the situation. Turkey sees YPG as an offshoot of PKK. In fact they share the same leadership, even the founder of both organizations is the same guy, Ocalan, who is in life sentence in Turkey. For Turkey, it is simply a national security issue. Just as she fights with PKK within borders, she has to fight with any offshoot of it beyond its borders. I wonder the long term implications of West's decision on supporting SDF. Since this is a bipartisan policy in Turkey, Erdogan losing the election won't change much on this front. Let's see what the future brings .

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. I know that many in Turkey will not see it in these terms. They will see it as a legitimate action against a terrorist group. But for many Kurds any invasion (and I prefer to call these things as they are and not use euphemisms) will be seen as a direct and deliberate attempt to destroy Rojava. They will see this as an existential matter. It is important to understand how the other side might see the situation. In this sense, am trying to provoke a genuine debate on all this. And you raise some very important points about the longer term implications of supporting a group that most observers believe is indistinguishable from the PKK, which is still regarded as a terrorist organisation by most Western states.

[@dreamer2260]

@@JamesKerLindsay I appreciate that you are trying to maintain balance, keep both sides in dialogue etc. It is an extremely difficult task especially when it comes to such hyper-charged and fraught matters as ethnic conflict, terrorism, insurgency, wars and invasions etc. However, I have to say that frankly the only long term implications of the West's support of the AANES/SDF worth a damn, in Syria at least, are that more Syrian Kurds are spared a little longer any further ethnic cleansing terror campaigns by Turkey. And that the one flame of hope to come out of the brutality, waste and horror of the Syrian Civil War is kept alive a little longer; more women and girls are supported to assert their rights and dignity, more people experience life under a basic level of secularism, ethnic and religious tolerance and rough equality (though of course imperfect), and an element of self-governance, rather than brutal, autocratic and sectarian rule.

[@melekcancesmebas3755]

@@JamesKerLindsay Professor, we, as the peoples living in Turkey, see that YPG and PKK are the same thing by experiencing, observing and realizing in daily life. These two organizations have clearly supported each other and are affiliated to the same leader in Western sources for about 40 years. And they are equally responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent civilians, babies, teachers and doctors in Turkey. All the peoples living in Turkey and the region know that the PKK=YPG and these organizations are responsible for killing too many innocent people. Please indicate this in your videos. As your follower, I regret that you describe the bloody-handed people who killed our friends and relatives, as a normal political party.

[@cuneyttevfikyldz8113]

@@JamesKerLindsay The Western world must now understand that Rojava or not, Turkey will never allow a Kurdish state, whether the PKK/YPG jump, shout or cry!

[@mardbenzmura1446]

well, HDP coming to power would change this policy for sure. since HDP can't come to power on its own it has to control other parties such as CHP. we'll see how that goes.

[@pirlo4275]

Thank you for the videos Prof. Ker-Lindsay. May I ask your opininon on why USA chose to utilize effective Kurdish and other military groups (SDF) in Syria against IS; instead of asking cooperation with Turkey (a NATO-ally)?

[@ObinShlocklin]

Because turkey aided and helped ISIS throughout the whole mess? Its been pretty well documented

[@motorrowdy]

@@ObinShlocklin that was Reported fake news

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Great question! I think that there were a number of reasons. For a start, I think that Washington didn’t want to be seen to be endorsing a direct intervention by Turkey into its neighbour, especially as this could then internationalise the conflict in various unpredictable ways. Also, many would have suspected that this would really be aimed at extinguishing the Kurdish area than taking on IS. This would have undermined an area that had established an alternative model to Assad’s regime. I also think that there was a lot if sympathy for the Kurds, especially given the role played by women fighters against iS. Also, many if the US didn’t trust Turkey. There had been persistent rumours that Ankara had been indirectly (or even directly) assisting IS. So, I think there were a whole range of reasons why Washington decided to go in with the SDF, rather than support Turkey.

[@dsaddfgs1186]

@@JamesKerLindsay funny that you didnt mention who created isis in the first place then? especially considering any terror organizations cant survive without support of any goverment or organizations firstly they need gun and money secondly isnt it odd they suddenly appeared like many suspected events i also will be appreciated if you consider that USA's main goal would be establishment of new puppet kurdish state in that area also you should mention that that terror groups doesnt even represent kurd people who lives in turkey so it is not like turks against kurds kurds have same right with turks you cant even tell apart them phsically also during time many inter mariages took place so isnt it rightful thing turks defend themself ? rather than usa 's being there from million miles away

[@cuneyttevfikyldz8113]

@@JamesKerLindsay No , the truth is that the USA has a hidden agenda regarding the region , the main aim is to establish a terrorist organization YPG State with the pretext of fighting DEASH ( IS ) because everyone knows that the Americans who founded DEASH ( IS ) are the PKK . Turkish Army killed more than 3000 DAESH Terrorists and arrested more than 6000 in Operation Euphrates Shield, 671 DAESH Terrorists were arrested in Turkey and Northern Syria this year alone!

[@almazchati4178]

Kurds are originally from Iran. They were expelled by Safavids around 1500. Ottomans welcomed them. I find it strange that they are making claims in Iraq, Syria or Turkey.

[@wankawanka3053]

Turks literally came from central asia and now live in anatolia sure the kurds can have claims

[@almazchati4178]

@@wankawanka3053 If they had fought for it, maybe. But they asked to be admitted on some conditions. I don't know the situation leading to the war between the Romans and the Turks in 1071. Roman army had traveled quite a distance to fight them. Turks moved into Middle East around 750 after they defeated Arab invasion. It was a defensive move for them.

[@juliibongo]

Thank you very much and I love the way you take your time to analyze much love from West Africa Nigeria

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much! And very warmest regards from London. :-)

[@ismetince]

Hi Prof James. It is a great video. But you should understand Turks will be offended by the sentence Turko-Kurdish war. Turks and Kurds have a long history together. Even in Ottoman times, Kurdish people protected and defended the eastern borders of Ottoman Empire against Iran (Safavid Empire). We even had a Kurdish president (Turgut Ozal). We also have a large Kurdish population in the western part of Turkey. No country is entirely innocent. Turkey also made some mistakes. But Turkey has the right to protect her borders like other countries. Free Kurdistan is never going to be an option for any country in the region.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. I used the term Kurdish deliberately. I understand that it was provocative. It was meant to be. We need to have a debate about what is happening. Many in Turkey will insist that the PKK is the enemy here and that any action won’t be directed against Kurds. But the reality is that any invasion would be aimed at undermining the Kurdish autonomous area. In this sense while many Turks won’t see this as Turks vs Kurds. Many Kurds and many outsiders will see it in precisely that way. I think this is part of the problem with contemporary Turkish foreign policy. It is very introverted. I don’t think policy makers stop to consider hire the country’s actions will be seen by others. It makes sense to them and that’s seemingly all that matters. I don’t for one moment deny that that PKK has waged a brutal campaign against Turkey. That’s not in doubt. But there is more to this than the PKK.

[@phaedon3408]

@@kayacenk4164 "coming back!" : where is "back"?

[@tekhayat5995]

@@kayacenk4164 valla adam herceyi açıklıyor burda Kürtlere dair herşeyi propaganda sanan siz Moğollarsiniz.

[@ismetince]

@@aminecmain3827 you only can have Kurdistan in your dreams. I have a lot of Kurdish friends. They love Turkey. They are great people. Free Kurdistan would bring more hatred, chaos and animosity for the region. In addition, what would happen to Kurdish people in western part of Turkey if free Kurdistan emerged. They definitely would have a lot of pressure. We don’t need any separation but we all should focus on collaboration instead.

[@ismetince]

@@aminecmain3827 I don't argue with terrorists. PKK killed even babies. That's sad but true. Please do not speak on behalf of me. You don't know me. And you do not need to. I have nothing against Kurdish people. I always look at them as my brothers. I respect Kurds but I have ZERO respect for terrorists. I certainly have a problem with your way of thinking which is unacceptable since it supports terrorism clearly. Please do not reply.

[@seanmurray757]

Great analysis. Your analyses are always well presented, so we can better understand the issue you are talking about. Thank you.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks so much Sean. I really appreciate it.

[@damasfadi456fadi2]

Down with the Kurdish-American occupation of Syria.

[@vedatavci3992]

As a Kurdish thank you for all your efforts. But also I wanna say the issue is too complicated even most Kurds can’t explain. Kurdish issue is also exist in Iraq, Syria and Iran. And all these countries facing this problem with diffrent ways. Living in middle east is difficult, living in middle east without having state is beyond the difficult. I hope whole middle east and Mesopotamia will find peace in the future.

[@johnpatsias4454]

Why so divided the Kurdish people? Without unity you will never acomplish anything. Such a pity for an ancient tribe that has been there long before Turks appear (i believe you were called "Kardouchi" by ancient Greeks).

[@randomperson9187]

@@johnpatsias4454 You have to understand there are different groups with different cultures and in many cases different languages. That would be like him asking you why Greeks and Albanians don't unite.

[@itsblitz4437]

Or Albanians with the Serbians.

[@itsblitz4437]

Are Kurds secular or are they very tribal similar to the Afghanistan?

[@YourSocialistAutomaton]

@@itsblitz4437What do you think? Do you think all Islamics are tribal? They are secular.

[@perihelion7798]

I really appreciate your ability to explain complex political situations with such clarity. Thanks. The entire world seems to be writhing in agony right now, with all major military and economic powers in a state of political flux. I suspect major events will continue to occur, with long reaching ramifications. In any event, I believe you will continue to provide a careful analysis of all important developments. I appreciate your efforts.

[@buelo232]

m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqGVhKukdsiNbK8

[@perihelion7798]

@@kayacenk4164 Nonsense. The US doesn't need to steal any oil from anywhere. The PPK is recognized as a terrorist group by all of Europe and the US due to their actions, not words.

[@simko28]

Turkey uses PKK as an excuse to oppress and destroy any Kurdish demand for their rights, they are against any Kurdish rights even in Iraq , Syria and Iran . After WW1 many countries got rid of ottoman oppressions , but unlucky Kurdistan was linked by force to modern Turkey in 1922 and other countries, that historical mistake or crime against Kurdistan done based on interests of the colonial countries at that time, which led to many genocide and mass killing and distraction of Kurds people and towns , this going on for centuries now . Turkey today has still Ottoman time believes of ethnic cleansing of Kurds , so far they successfully changed half of the Kurdish in Turkey to Turkish , they can’t speak Kurdish language anymore, as an Iraqi Kurd myself I have met many Kurdish people from Turkey they don’t speak a word Kurdish anymore , Kurdish people in Turkey are severely oppressed and Turkey uses PKK to destroy any voices asking for equality, the attack on Istanbul wasn’t done by pkk or Kurds why Kurds in Syria will do such a small stupid crime to jeopardise their big achievements in the region as an ally to USA ? No logic in it , the woman who done that she has 4 bothers killed fighting for isis , and it’s related to Islamist extremism extremes who blame Turkey for not supporting them enough , while at beginning of Syria civil war they were founded and funded by Turkey such as Al Nusra and later became isis and then after they were defeated they came back as Nusra again supported by Turkey until today . Turkey knows that too but they still wanna destroy Kurds in Syria and they use that unfair terrorist allegation on Kurds to legitimate their invasion of Syria Kurdistan and change the demography of the area and destroy historical existence of Kurds in the region like what they still doing in Turkey. I think it’s UN work to correct that historical mistake done in 1922 and give Kurdistan back to it’s indigenous people Kurds , who had been living there since Mesopotamia time. That’s the solution for us Kurds, Lausanne treaty was crime against Kurds , Greek and Armenians we need our rights

[@perihelion7798]

@@simko28 I understand your point of view, but the PKK is not helping their cause by their violent actions. Turkey is a NATO member because of it's location mainly.

[@demirdemir2227]

A very happy greek

[@bahadrsarcicek7110]

Thanks!

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Hi James hope you are well and thank you for this video.. you have such an amazing ability to condense and explain the history and development of current crises in such a way that even I can understand ! All the best to you..! g

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks so much George! To be honest, I’ve actually avoided doing much on Syria. It is by far the most complex conflict of modern times. But I hope this at least shed a bit of light on one aspect of it. I hope all is well with you.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

@@bahruzaliyev6434 I did explicitly state that it was classed as a terrorist organisation.

[@bahruzaliyev6434]

@@JamesKerLindsay You are right, Prof. Sorry, I missed it and removed my wrong review.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

@@bahruzaliyev6434 Thank you.

[@damasfadi456fadi2]

stop America and Kurdish Militia from stealing Syrian oil

[@denizartpage]

Hello James ı've been watching your videos but with this video ı'm not sure the audience will understand what PKK done to kurdish and Turkish ordinary people . Killed them, bombed schools and hospitals. Kidnapped teachers, doctors even infants. With the so called peace process Turkish forces stayed in their barracks didn't shoot a bullet to any of these terrorists. with these freedom . They came to our cities . After the peace procces we have to do Trench operations (aka hendek operasyonları) . We suffered yesterday and we suffer today. Please don't make things like Turks vs Kurd. İt is not like that .

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. I deliberately made sure that I didn’t glorify the PKK. I was clear that it has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States, Britain and the European Union. I also made it clear that it had a particular political outlook. But I think we need to be able to have open discussions about international relations. You make a good point. But I think many Kurds would argue that there is a wider ethnic dimension. There is a legitimate debate to be had, especially as many Kurds believe that Turkey is not trying to undermine the PKK or the YPG, but instead really wants to obliterate the Kurdish region as an autonomous entity.

[@Kebabcutter]

When you take a look at relations between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdish Regional Administration, it is clear what Turkey aim is. Claiming Turkey want to obliterate the Kurdish region as an autonomous entity is absurd after that... Turkeys problem is terrorism and since PKK also terrorized Kurds in Northern Iraq by attacking regional administration Turkey has strong relations with them. Trying to racialize this topic after that is absurd... @@JamesKerLindsay

[@motorrowdy]

@@Kebabcutter yes buddy ,we can repeat that 1 million times ...the headlines will still be the same for the western media : turks bomb kurds .🤦‍♂️

[@noway6379]

Whatever kurds did, it's nothing compared to what turks did to the indigenous people of Armenians and Greek...

[@dreamer2260]

'Our cities'. Many cities in the southeast are predominantly Kurdish. They are not 'your' cities. Not by right. They are yours by force; they are under imperial rule; Kurdish cities expressed self-government Turkish soldiers from the west are sent to subdue them. Kurds in the southeast elect their own to govern them; Turkey locks up half of the politician Kurd elect to govern themselves, and sends imperial Turkish governors from Ankara to rule over the rebellious minority. All this after decades of relatively recent extreme cultural genocide. It cannot be repeated enough; the Kurdish language was fucking banned until the 1990s, and don't you dare try to pass that off onto the military dictatorship as some aberration. This was a relatively consistent element in Turkish nationalism going right back to the founding of the Republic. Your goddamned trench operations were fucking imperialist wars of conquest against rebellious territories, and never mind the civilians who got in the way. Demirtas even went to Cizre to try to deescalate, negotiate. But obviously he was denied entry and the Turkish state continued shelling residential blocks and shooting civilians in the street. Topping it off by burning over a hundred Kurds alive in Cizre basements. The Turkish state is *objectively* by the number of civilians killed and displaced, the number of villages destroyed etc., the number displaced in what effectively amounted to ethnic cleansing campaigns, moreso a terrorist organisation than the PKK. The PKK may be one. But if so, so is the Turkish state.

[@theconqueringram5295]

I don't know what to say except I support the Kurds and I hope they get their own independent Kurdistan one day, preferably during my lifetime. They deserve their own country.

[@binbasesatoktayyldran5236]

They are not Kurds but terrorist groups. PKK is the biggest drug dealer in the middle east. Most Kurds don't want to separate in Turkey.

[@A.A.]

What do u think about kashmir? Should it be independent?

[@simko28]

Turkey uses PKK as an excuse to oppress and destroy any Kurdish demand for their rights, they are against any Kurdish rights even in Iraq , Syria and Iran . After WW1 many countries got rid of ottoman oppressions , but unlucky Kurdistan was linked by force to modern Turkey in 1922 and other countries, that historical mistake or crime against Kurdistan done based on interests of the colonial countries at that time, which led to many genocide and mass killing and distraction of Kurds people and towns , this going on for centuries now . Turkey today has still Ottoman time believes of ethnic cleansing of Kurds , so far they successfully changed half of the Kurdish in Turkey to Turkish , they can’t speak Kurdish language anymore, as an Iraqi Kurd myself I have met many Kurdish people from Turkey they don’t speak a word Kurdish anymore , Kurdish people in Turkey are severely oppressed and Turkey uses PKK to destroy any voices asking for equality, the attack on Istanbul wasn’t done by pkk or Kurds why Kurds in Syria will do such a small stupid crime to jeopardise their big achievements in the region as an ally to USA ? No logic in it , the woman who done that she has 4 bothers killed fighting for isis , and it’s related to Islamist extremism extremes who blame Turkey for not supporting them enough , while at beginning of Syria civil war they were founded and funded by Turkey such as Al Nusra and later became isis and then after they were defeated they came back as Nusra again supported by Turkey until today . Turkey knows that too but they still wanna destroy Kurds in Syria and they use that unfair terrorist allegation on Kurds to legitimate their invasion of Syria Kurdistan and change the demography of the area and destroy historical existence of Kurds in the region like what they still doing in Turkey. I think it’s UN work to correct that historical mistake done in 1922 and give Kurdistan back to it’s indigenous people Kurds , who had been living there since Mesopotamia time. That’s the solution for us Kurds, Lausanne treaty was crime against Kurds , Greek and Armenians we need our rights

[@A.A.]

@@simko28 you want to carve out pieces of land from 4 different countries, and you are hoping that would happen peacefully? Turkey's shenanigans are justified because this is the modern era, and the world cannot be divided based on ancient history. There will be chaos everywhere if the world follows Kurdish logic.

[@hallabajja]

Why dont u just give away a piece of ur state then if u want them to have a country?

[@VanWilshere2134]

Could you please do a video on the political situation of Assyrians?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you. Great suggestion. This is a really important topic. It is certainly on my list. I will try to cover it at some point.

[@VanWilshere2134]

@@JamesKerLindsay Thank you. It will be interesting to hear the history of the Assyrians quest for nationhood from the Paris Peace Conference and to the current day with calls for a Nineveh Plain Province.

[@simko28]

Turkey uses PKK as an excuse to oppress and destroy any Kurdish demand for their rights, they are against any Kurdish rights even in Iraq , Syria and Iran . After WW1 many countries got rid of ottoman oppressions , but unlucky Kurdistan was linked by force to modern Turkey in 1922 and other countries, that historical mistake or crime against Kurdistan done based on interests of the colonial countries at that time, which led to many genocide and mass killing and distraction of Kurds people and towns , this going on for centuries now . Turkey today has still Ottoman time believes of ethnic cleansing of Kurds , so far they successfully changed half of the Kurdish in Turkey to Turkish , they can’t speak Kurdish language anymore, as an Iraqi Kurd myself I have met many Kurdish people from Turkey they don’t speak a word Kurdish anymore , Kurdish people in Turkey are severely oppressed and Turkey uses PKK to destroy any voices asking for equality, the attack on Istanbul wasn’t done by pkk or Kurds why Kurds in Syria will do such a small stupid crime to jeopardise their big achievements in the region as an ally to USA ? No logic in it , the woman who done that she has 4 bothers killed fighting for isis , and it’s related to Islamist extremism extremes who blame Turkey for not supporting them enough , while at beginning of Syria civil war they were founded and funded by Turkey such as Al Nusra and later became isis and then after they were defeated they came back as Nusra again supported by Turkey until today . Turkey knows that too but they still wanna destroy Kurds in Syria and they use that unfair terrorist allegation on Kurds to legitimate their invasion of Syria Kurdistan and change the demography of the area and destroy historical existence of Kurds in the region like what they still doing in Turkey. I think it’s UN work to correct that historical mistake done in 1922 and give Kurdistan back to it’s indigenous people Kurds , who had been living there since Mesopotamia time. That’s the solution for us Kurds, Lausanne treaty was crime against Kurds , Assyrians , Greek and Armenians we need our rights

[@delihikmet4409]

Hi James, out of context but, as a person who got his new glasses I have developed a habit of checking others glasses and noticed the imbalance on yours. Left side is higher than the right. You should check it out as it may give discomfort on your vision. Cheers.

[@farqinsilvan8959]

🌹✌️✌️🌹 Her biji✌️ kırdıysam✌️ Rojava✌️ Bağkur✌️ Azadîyê kırdıysam

[@ahmedelkhwaga2751]

Kufrstan

[@megajuancarlos27]

Any chance of covering Frisian nationalism and independence movements in the future?

[@cerdic6305]

Is that a serious movement in the Netherlands or is it just kind of a minor/joke thing like Cornish independence in the UK

[@megajuancarlos27]

@@cerdic6305 Not entirely sure. That's why I was asking the prof about it.

[@ayhankaracaoglu6845]

in future of course, all seperation and ethnic lines in nl, france, ger ,spain will be provoked, its in foreseeable future.with decline of these states turmoil will start.see exp of yellow vest.

[@mojewjewjew4420]

I never heard anything about it,are you from netherlands?

[@megajuancarlos27]

@@mojewjewjew4420 I am not but I have traveled throughout Europe plenty of times.

[@muhdkhairulhassan7736]

So prb started by England and France?

[@arafsheikh6907]

Sir, do you think president erdogan is important for turkey and for the world??

[@Fyrlss]

Greetings Professor! Thank you very much! This video has filled in some gaps of info that I had. It connects historical events in a simplified manner. Your choice of words is very much on point and your presentation is objective as usual. Do you think that Turkish Forces will ever leave Syria or are they there to stay indefinitely?

[@eget4144]

If you would know the full story and if you would see which parts are "simplified" you would not believe him. He passes how the terrorist leader was given to turkey by CIA, PKK members that get higher ranks intantly in PYD, turkey's relationship with non-terrorist kurdish groıps etc.

[@Fyrlss]

@@eget4144 ergo "simplified". Well, he didn't mention either how the kurds have been chewed and spit by several foreign governments. They have been promised to get the full support for their own country more times than I could mention, just to fight wars that are not theirs, but somehow they keep falling for the same trick time after time and sometimes by exactly the same people in the same governments. However, the Professor explained this very well for people that don't have a previous extensive knowledge about this. Maybe he intentionally omitted certain details to not appear as biased. Personally, I was satisfied with the brief.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

@ Mr. Fyrlss Thanks you. Unfortunately, in any video I do there are always the extreme voices who won't be happy unless the story is told exactly how they want it to be told - even if it means making highly biased in their favour. And even then, a single word will be produced as evidence of underlying bias. You can't really win! :-) But thanks so much for the kind words. I appreciate them enormously.

[@seysii7480]

Turkey has no eyes in Syria, its aim is to destroy the terrorist pkk pyd like ISIS

[@Fyrlss]

@@JamesKerLindsay I could not have said it any better myself. You are always welcome and thank you for your kindness and information.

[@caucasianrize5471]

Turkey is defending its borders from the marxist Terrororganization PKK, not generalising against the kurdish people. Turkey is a multi-ethnic state with many different ethnic groups. How do you explain that the current head of the secret service is a etnic kurd? How do you explain that Turkey even had a kurdish president. How do you explain that the Turks support the peshmerga and the kurdish autonomous region in north Iraq.

[@petbabyrammus8467]

Perhaps you should make a video on who wants and would benefit from a YPG controlled state.

[@danielsekeledo4088]

Awesome work Dr

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you very much! Really appreciated.

[@gokhancakmak1410]

Sir, your videos are so informative. We really need a content creator in such subjects that are related to Turkish politics who gives right information. Thank you 🙂

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much Gökhan. I know that this is a very sensitive subject. And I hope I covered it in a balanced way. Turkey is such an important country, and I have worked on it for 30 years. I can certainly be critical. But I also like to think that I am respectful and fair. And, while I can understand Kurdish grievances (as I do with many groups), I certainly don’t have a rosy view of the PKK - especially since a Turkish friend of mine at university was injured in a PKK attack.

[@shaman553]

ارجو ان تثب تعليق انا لا افهم ماتقوله لان لا اتكلم الانكليزيه ولكن عندما ترجمة بعض التعليقات اتضح لي يوجد ظلم كبير على الشعب الكوردي في جميع اجزائه وتريد تقول ان الكورد هم من فعل هاذا التفجير .الكورد ليس هم من فعلو هاذا التفجير الإرهابي الذي حصل في اسطنبول والكورد يستنكرو هاذا التفجير الإرهابي التفجير الذي حصل هوا من فعل جبهة النصره الارهابيه التابعه لجولاني الذي يدعمه نظام اردوغان الارهابي وهم من قامو بتدريبها واوصلوها إلى اسطنبول لتفعل هاذا التفجير الإرهابي كي يتهمو الكورد وتكون لهم زريعه لغزو كورد سوريا وتهجيرهم مثل مافعل السفاح اتاتورك في الماضي ويوجد ادله دامه وموفقه بل بل صوت وصوره وارسلوها للبنتكون الأمريكي منذو اسبوع .راجع معلوماتك

[@shaman553]

@@JamesKerLindsay ارجو ان تثب تعليق انا لا افهم ماتقوله لان لا اتكلم الانكليزيه ولكن عندما ترجمة بعض التعليقات اتضح لي يوجد ظلم كبير على الشعب الكوردي في جميع اجزائه وتريد تقول ان الكورد هم من فعل هاذا التفجير .الكورد ليس هم من فعلو هاذا التفجير الإرهابي الذي حصل في اسطنبول والكورد يستنكرو هاذا التفجير الإرهابي التفجير الذي حصل هوا من فعل جبهة النصره الارهابيه التابعه لجولاني الذي يدعمه نظام اردوغان الارهابي وهم من قامو بتدريبها واوصلوها إلى اسطنبول لتفعل هاذا التفجير الإرهابي كي يتهمو الكورد وتكون لهم زريعه لغزو كورد سوريا وتهجيرهم مثل مافعل السفاح اتاتورك في الماضي ويوجد ادله دامه وموفقه بل بل صوت وصوره وارسلوها للبنتكون الأمريكي منذو اسبوع .راجع معلوماتك

[@shaman553]

@@JamesKerLindsay لا أتقن الغه الإنكليزي ولم افهم ما تقوله ولاكن ارجو انت تثبت تعليق الذي ذكرته لك بموضوع تفجير وشكرا

[@shaman553]

ارجو ترجمة كلامك للغه الكورديه او العربيه لان يوجد كثير لا يتقنون الغه الإنكليزي وشكر

[@ministeriosemmanuel638]

A very informative video on the current situation regarding Syria! Will you do a video covering the indigenous Assyrian people in the Middle East, Professor? Are there any international organizations that are aiding them? Can they survive?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. Excellent suggestion! I would certainly like to take a look at this. It is an important and overlooked issue.

[@ministeriosemmanuel638]

@@JamesKerLindsay Thank you for your work Professor

[@kaan7664]

There are many foreign peoples who have come to the Republic of Turkie from Ottoman Empire period to the present day. Peoples living in the Republic of Turkie live in peace. Republic of Turkie does not want a terrorist organization that harms the peoples living in Turkie in its region. Republic of Turkie does not want threats in its region. United States, as an ally, does not understand the concern of the Republic of Turkie. In addition, Syrian YPG did not comply with the agreement and launched an attack on the Republic of Turkey. Republic of Turkie will naturally seek its right. 🇹🇷🤝🇺🇸

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

It wouldn't be a first.. after all it seems like Turkey will not accept an Kurdish independent state of any sort, even if their borders aren't effected.. Since from Turkish point of view that state would look like a " ramp state" repeating the Balkan wars scenario How realistic is that, it's a different story But as I often say voters and realism aren't going together

[@ErenKarakasli]

stay on your side of the world Greek 😘

[@buelo232]

m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqGVhKukdsiNbK8

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

@@ErenKarakasli grow up boy

[@korkukokusu8311]

@@Pavlos_Charalambous hahah ✌

[@Kronosfobi]

You are forgetting we *did* try to make peace with the exact terrorists that have been raiding and bombing our cities. They repayed the deed by arming, regrouping and getting trained by American forces only to hit us back later on. The process even allowed some to freely move between borders and resulted in several bombings of big cities like Istanbul. Our problem isnt creation of a Kurdish state, its creation of a kurdish state under the control of PKK, Who are going to serve as puppets to further Russian control in middle east. IF Iraq and Syria mutually agree to give birth to a Kurdistan, they are free to do so. *As long as they dont expect a piece of OUR territory.*

[@yaseminakkas1761]

Turkey will do this operation to protect itself, in fact, what is the USA doing there, this should be discussed

[@dreamer2260]

USA was there to assist the local people fo Syria including Kurds against ISIS. They also wanted to overthrow Assad but that didn't end up working.

[@yaseminakkas1761]

@@dreamer2260 The USA, who founded ISIS,uses it as an excuse whenever it wants to operate somewhere.The US can overthrow Assad if he wants, it just doesn't work for him,he's there for that oil. He doesn't care about the Kurds.

[@dreamer2260]

@@yaseminakkas1761 The US did not found ISIS. ISIS founded itself. US actions contributed to the rise and development of ISIS through the Iraq invasion and all the consequences from that etc., yes. But they did not found ISIS, and do not 'use' them for anything. All they ever did was try to defeat them.

[@zazakurdish7472]

We as kurdish children have been raised in turkish schools by racial ideology. We were teaced, in turkey we all are turks and all muslim. 1990 when i meet 2 german university history professors, inveted them for a tea. During anout 2 hours conversation they asked me if i am a turk or a kurd. I was quite surprized and shocked by question, and answered, i am a turk. From up 90s step ny step recognized my kurdish idendity.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you. It is really interesting to see how this issue has evolved. I have worked on Turkey for 30 years. There have been enormous changes. But still many of the underlying issues remain unresolved. There is still a deep fear about acknowledging the multiethnic character of the country, even if everyone is a Turkish citizen and the large majority are loyal to the state.

[@zazakurdish7472]

@@JamesKerLindsay quite interesting videos from you. Unfortunately people in the world are informed about maximal 2-3 % what turkey all do. Lets remember, in 1950s in anatolia population about 50% christian. Now christian do not exist there anymore. 30 years i have been collection 1000s of videos, pictures, news links about turkeys actions. 1000s of war crimes, crimes against international law and humanity.

[@simko28]

Turkey uses PKK as an excuse to oppress and destroy any Kurdish demand for their rights, they are against any Kurdish rights even in Iraq , Syria and Iran . After WW1 many countries got rid of ottoman oppressions , but unlucky Kurdistan was linked by force to modern Turkey in 1922 and other countries, that historical mistake or crime against Kurdistan done based on interests of the colonial countries at that time, which led to many genocide and mass killing and distraction of Kurds people and towns , this going on for centuries now . Turkey today has still Ottoman time believes of ethnic cleansing of Kurds , so far they successfully changed half of the Kurdish in Turkey to Turkish , they can’t speak Kurdish language anymore, as an Iraqi Kurd myself I have met many Kurdish people from Turkey they don’t speak a word Kurdish anymore , Kurdish people in Turkey are severely oppressed and Turkey uses PKK to destroy any voices asking for equality, the attack on Istanbul wasn’t done by pkk or Kurds why Kurds in Syria will do such a small stupid crime to jeopardise their big achievements in the region as an ally to USA ? No logic in it , the woman who done that she has 4 bothers killed fighting for isis , and it’s related to Islamist extremism extremes who blame Turkey for not supporting them enough , while at beginning of Syria civil war they were founded and funded by Turkey such as Al Nusra and later became isis and then after they were defeated they came back as Nusra again supported by Turkey until today . Turkey knows that too but they still wanna destroy Kurds in Syria and they use that unfair terrorist allegation on Kurds to legitimate their invasion of Syria Kurdistan and change the demography of the area and destroy historical existence of Kurds in the region like what they still doing in Turkey. I think it’s UN work to correct that historical mistake done in 1922 and give Kurdistan back to it’s indigenous people Kurds , who had been living there since Mesopotamia time. That’s the solution for us Kurds, Lausanne treaty was crime against Kurds , Greek and Armenians we need our rights

[@mehrdadb9789]

@@od3398 Kurds do have a state and it's Iran and like you mentioned Ottoman annexed eastern anatolia from Persia 400 years ago after battle of chaldiran

[@lou6749]

@@mehrdadb9789 long live kurdishstan inshallah

[@asadkhan-cz2zt]

For sure the Kurds deserve their own homeland and independence, but if we look at most of the territorial disputes across the world almost all of them in one or another way are linked with European colonization.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. I agree that many are indeed the product of colonialism. This is a theme I frequently return to.

[@ismetince]

Why would they deserve it? And would it survive? Middle East is already a big disaster. Also Kurds still would have different minorities. What happens if they also want to be separated? The new independent Kurdish country would not bring any peace at all. It is not perfect now but the situation would be more unbearable for everyone including Kurds.

[@ismetince]

@@aminecmain3827 every nation should be able to speak their own language. But I don’t respect separatist thoughts. I certainly would look at it differently if Kurdish people had the same hateful approach that Uyghur (East Turkestan) faced every minute. I’m sure you have no idea what’s going on in East Turkestan. They are treated worse than animals because they are Muslims and not Chinese. Kurds do not to create an independent country which it eventually would turn into a puppet state to create promised land. Yes, we have a lot of great Kurdish people in the past and today - Aziz Sancar and Salahadin Eyyubi. I respect them. But I can’t respect terrorist opinions which damage all humanity.

[@simko28]

@@ismetince why not ? If in 1922 colonial countries had given Anatolia to Greeks not Turks , would you have said same thing as you say now ?

[@ismetince]

@@simko28 Apparently you have no information about Gallipoli campaign. Many Kurds, Turks, Caucasians, Albanians fought together against Allied Powers. It was not given but taken. I am not here to convince anyone. I am against terrorism. Definition of terrorism: the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. I am really sick of ignorant people.

[@SercanGunaydn]

I don’t think it’s fair to label a whole nation as “terrorist”. It’s not Turks againsts Kurds but Turks and Kurds are against terrorists is the right equation. Since many Kurds in Turkey doesn’t relate themselves with PKK/YPG/SDF or any given names to this militant group. Don’t forget Erdoğan’s party has many Kurds in it, PM’s, ministers etc.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

No one is saying all Kurds are terrorists. Quite the opposite. But I think you are viewing this from a very Turkish perspective. This isn’t about Turkey. It is about Turkey and Syrian Kurds. My point is that Turkey portrays any invasion as being directed towards the PKK and PYD. However, many Kurds, and outsiders, will see this as being centred on trying to eradicate, or severely limit, the autonomous area in north east Syria. I think we need to have an honest discussion about this.

[@SercanGunaydn]

@@JamesKerLindsay my point is big part of Kurds are not PKK supporters. Then why insist on labeling and directly calling them “Kurds” instead of the organization name they represent since many Kurds are opposed to it and don’t relate themselves with any part of PKK/YPG/SDF etc. this is very disturbing since PKK is not the representative of all Kurds

[@JamesKerLindsay]

@@SercanGunaydn because you are seeing this only in terms of Turkey and the Kurds there. By attacking northern Syria, many will see this as an attack on Syrian Kurds.

[@SercanGunaydn]

@@JamesKerLindsay there’s no normal life in Syria after years of conflicts all of them are migrants now. When %80 of the “people” in an area are militants under different organization names it is a forced and not fair labeling. Especially many Kurds of that area are fled to neighboring countries because of the abuse they faced by these militias.

[@sts1548]

@@JamesKerLindsay so what do you expect Turkiye? Should we let ypg create a country while they are holding abdullah ocalan posters and giving usa made weapons to pkk members? Do you think that any county accept the any organization which is going to be terrorists lair near their border? You can ask any ypg member about what they think about pkk?

[@kevkeary4700]

were the kurds sold out by Sweden? or is the bigger picture more important?

[@blagoevski336]

Dang

[@baranabdullah4989]

God bless all Kurds from the enemies 😢

[@sbd03]

God didn't bless Kurds in Afrin Tel Abyad and Rasulayn 😁

[@denizcelik1690]

Until the European colonialist nations came to divide neighbor against neighbor. Neighbors had lived together intermarriage shared culture, broke bread together for 1000 years with little to no conflict. The French, British, and Russians saw an opportunity to create vassal states which under their control could help siphon natural resources and give new strength to their empires. So began the propaganda and infiltration of communities who worked together, fought to defend their land together, went to the same mosques and churcues together began. The differences which for many centuries enriched the land were turned against the Ottoman Kurds, Turks, Christians, Armenians etc. Ignoring the fact that Ottomans allowed each millet or nation within the empire or confederation their own religious freedom, as well as never eradicating or assimilating them with erasure of their language, instead all of their individual rights and freedoms to speak and worship as they so felt were maintained and is one of the reasons for the longevity of the Empire. Yet with European ideas of divide and conquer taking effect we can see that since then and after several centuries of peace, a new era of envy, division, mistrust and violence took place. European namely French and British as well as Ruddians armed local populations who lived together for centuries against one another. Hmm doesn't that sound familiar...cough cough Ukraine.... and where there was once no war and families intermarriage and beautiful Mixed children being born solidifying bonds that could bring peace for many more centuries Hate and division has taken hold. Now in a land that once was the land of Mesopotamia the meeting point of great peoples settling to live innpeace is now divided by imaginary lines drawn up in Paris, London add Washington DC to that and Moscow. I can garauntee you, if these foreign nations which armed and propagandists language and religion to benefit these far off lands would leave us and the resources to be shared by locals and not stolen. And if we were left alone to sit down and armaments from far off lands stopped coming in blowing up our men women and children, we would be back to another 1000 years of cohabitation cooperation and friendship. If Turkey was shipping in the amount of arms that are sent into Iraq and Syria into North Ireland I can tell you as a person of mixed race Ie Turkish and British, I can assure you the weapons uk and usa put in Syria and Iraq but instead northern Ireland, I bet all the money in the world uk and Ireland would be slaughtering each other once again and Turkeys role would be highly condemned and it would be shown to be a dishonest partner and a vile terrorist state. Facts and you and everyone with any knowledge of history, politics and diplomacy cannot deny it.

[@denizcelik1690]

Adding to the above history lesson, let us come to the modern era, YPG and PKK are currently stationed in colonialist USA base in Northern Syria and Iraq. As staunch allies and members of Nato it is absolutely two faced and hypocrisy that the Americans are arming and defending a usa uk listed as well as eu designated terrorist organization ypg and pkk. Again if Turkey was sending in the amount of arms as well as putting Turkish bases in Ireland, as well as Germany to destabilize France and UK, and also if Turkey went into Native American reserves and started training and arming the Natives to launch missiles into New York city, or L.A. to cecede and have independence, well again we all know what kind of response both the natives attacking American cities would receive as well as what kind of absolute destruction would come to Turkey via missiles and bombs and war in retaliation for Turkey doing what usa and uk have been doing for a century or more now. Facts and you cannot deny it.

[@ellas841]

Thank you for this insightful video! While their Western (somewhat complicated) allies in NATO would probably condemn Turkey for an invasion, do you think anything would be done except for new sanctions? Considering the already precarious situation NATO is facing on its Eastern border in Europe, which has naturally taken up the alliance's focus, wouldn't further Turkish aggression spark protest and demands from ex Greece? Short question: How far can Erdoğan go, before something is done within NATO or do you think, if it did blossom up to a new invasion today, the majority within Nato wouldn't be able or want to do much? Sorry for long comment I am just full with questions. Would Russia take the opportunity to support Turkish claims, and would Erdoğan accept it? And one last question - could it blossom up to something far worse than what we saw in 2019?

[@aflacseacatafeoxsokoya2529]

First of all, Turkey won't invade Syria. You've already known this. Secondly, There is no Kurdish-Turkish war. 10 million Kurds live in Turkey as equal Turkish citizen. Thirdly, when Saddam attacked Kurds, Turkiye welcomed and saved them from Iraq. On the other hand, ypg-sdf etc are just a terror organization which was established by criminal state of US..Isıs was US puppet too. Same for these proxy terrorist. We didn't invade Syria but. USA AND these terrorists invaded Syrian lands and committed genocide. USA is stealing SYRIAN OIL THROUGH THIS criminals. You are just a bad person. You aren't uneducated.. You are just a liar.

[@koba0798]

why should nato condemn another nato member for not liking communist marxist terror group?

[@aflacseacatafeoxsokoya2529]

@@koba0798 Koba, those are just brainwashed , antiTurk creatures. They are low people. They don't know anything. They are just lying.

[@simko28]

Turkey uses PKK as an excuse to oppress and destroy any Kurdish demand for their rights, they are against any Kurdish rights even in Iraq , Syria and Iran . After WW1 many countries got rid of ottoman oppressions , but unlucky Kurdistan was linked by force to modern Turkey in 1922 and other countries, that historical mistake or crime against Kurdistan done based on interests of the colonial countries at that time, which led to many genocide and mass killing and distraction of Kurds people and towns , this going on for centuries now . Turkey today has still Ottoman time believes of ethnic cleansing of Kurds , so far they successfully changed half of the Kurdish in Turkey to Turkish , they can’t speak Kurdish language anymore, as an Iraqi Kurd myself I have met many Kurdish people from Turkey they don’t speak a word Kurdish anymore , Kurdish people in Turkey are severely oppressed and Turkey uses PKK to destroy any voices asking for equality, the attack on Istanbul wasn’t done by pkk or Kurds why Kurds in Syria will do such a small stupid crime to jeopardise their big achievements in the region as an ally to USA ? No logic in it , the woman who done that she has 4 bothers killed fighting for isis , and it’s related to Islamist extremism extremes who blame Turkey for not supporting them enough , while at beginning of Syria civil war they were founded and funded by Turkey such as Al Nusra and later became isis and then after they were defeated they came back as Nusra again supported by Turkey until today . Turkey knows that too but they still wanna destroy Kurds in Syria and they use that unfair terrorist allegation on Kurds to legitimate their invasion of Syria Kurdistan and change the demography of the area and destroy historical existence of Kurds in the region like what they still doing in Turkey. I think it’s UN work to correct that historical mistake done in 1922 and give Kurdistan back to it’s indigenous people Kurds , who had been living there since Mesopotamia time. That’s the solution for us Kurds, Lausanne treaty was crime against Kurds , Greek and Armenians we need our rights

[@Assasin37]

Why is the turky going in a other country

[@aaronjones8905]

This seems like one of those peculiar situations in which entrenched antagonism is preventing opportunities for Turkey. If Turkey were able to reframe itself as a great friend to the Kurdish people (while denying any secessionist movements within Turkey itself); they would have great leverage over Syria, Iran, and Iraq. The ethnic division is especially unique considering there are three groups at play here - Kurds, Turks, and Arabs.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks Aaron. I agree. And many others have argued the same for a long time. But it is just too afraid of the consequences of promoting any sort of Kurdish political or ethnic identity. It is a really interesting situation.

[@simko28]

Turkey uses PKK as an excuse to oppress and destroy any Kurdish demand for their rights, they are against any Kurdish rights even in Iraq , Syria and Iran . After WW1 many countries got rid of ottoman oppressions , but unlucky Kurdistan was linked by force to modern Turkey in 1922 and other countries, that historical mistake or crime against Kurdistan done based on interests of the colonial countries at that time, which led to many genocide and mass killing and distraction of Kurds people and towns , this going on for centuries now . Turkey today has still Ottoman time believes of ethnic cleansing of Kurds , so far they successfully changed half of the Kurdish in Turkey to Turkish , they can’t speak Kurdish language anymore, as an Iraqi Kurd myself I have met many Kurdish people from Turkey they don’t speak a word Kurdish anymore , Kurdish people in Turkey are severely oppressed and Turkey uses PKK to destroy any voices asking for equality, the attack on Istanbul wasn’t done by pkk or Kurds why Kurds in Syria will do such a small stupid crime to jeopardise their big achievements in the region as an ally to USA ? No logic in it , the woman who done that she has 4 bothers killed fighting for isis , and it’s related to Islamist extremism extremes who blame Turkey for not supporting them enough , while at beginning of Syria civil war they were founded and funded by Turkey such as Al Nusra and later became isis and then after they were defeated they came back as Nusra again supported by Turkey until today . Turkey knows that too but they still wanna destroy Kurds in Syria and they use that unfair terrorist allegation on Kurds to legitimate their invasion of Syria Kurdistan and change the demography of the area and destroy historical existence of Kurds in the region like what they still doing in Turkey. I think it’s UN work to correct that historical mistake done in 1922 and give Kurdistan back to it’s indigenous people Kurds , who had been living there since Mesopotamia time. That’s the solution for us Kurds, Lausanne treaty was crime against Kurds , Greek and Armenians we need our rights

[@batuhankara396]

let me explain a fact to you 70% of Kurds are not separatists The West is trying to create a vadal state in the Middle East by showing all Kurds like this. Most of the Küerts support the current government

[@batuhankara396]

@@MrBARA-rt3uf We are feeding you and thousands like you and the return is ingratitude :) Maybe I should go to the prosecutor's office now and report you and have you expelled from the country.

[@aaronjones8905]

@@batuhankara396 Are you referring to Kurds in Turkey or in Syria? I was not claiming that most Kurds are separatists. Yet, the Turkish state has not done much to encourage Kurds to see themselves as a part of it as far as I can tell. I would question your assertion that the West is pushing the idea of Kurdish independence considering the following facts on the ground: 1. The US has not backed the Syrian Kurds over Turkey in their formation of Rojava. 2. The US did not recognize or encourage the Iraqi Kurds' recent independence referendum. 3. The US has little ability to influence the Kurds in Iran who have the least ability to declare independence. 4. The US and EU have recognized the PKK as a terrorist organization. I welcome you to inform me of the West's efforts if I am unaware of them, but I don't see where there is support for separatism. Rather, it is support for increased civil and political rights and opposition to sectarianism and ethnic discrimination.

[@user-wy1ne2fc5m]

It is reall good vedio.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much!

[@ruwiki]

"Yes. This is real!" xD

[@Halil.Ayhan1]

Dear Professor, we have been following your work with interest from Turkey. You have addressed the bleeding wound of Turkey. If you allow me, I would like to make a few additions as a person living in this geography. Contrary to popular belief, Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin do not use laws and identities that deprive them of their rights as a minority. They have the same citizenship rights and identity as Turks. No ethnic origin is indicated on any part of their identity cards. The reason for this is the decision taken by the founding cadres to preserve the unitary state model when the Republic was established. In other words, a Kurdish citizen in Turkey has the right to serve at all levels of the state. Politicians, bureaucrats, statesmen, high-ranking military administrators are included. Just like the President of the United States, Mr. Obama, Turkey has had Prime Ministers and Presidents of Kurdish origin for a long time (Turgut Özal) In the 1970s, as in the rest of the world, Marsist-Leninist movements became widespread in Turkey and many leftist organizations were established. These organizations carried out activities such as kidnapping ambassadors, robbing banks, and demanding ransom, as in Europe. Finally, when the streets turned into a conflict zone, the army took over the government (made a coup) in 1980 and made these left organizations ineffective with military methods, regardless of their ethnic and political identities. However, PKK continued to carry out terrorist activities after the civilian administration came. They bloodshed the streets with suicide bombings in metropolitan areas where civilians live densely. Over time, armed actions turned into major civilian massacres. In addition, PKK does not cover all Kurds living in Turkey. If you look at the election results of Türkiye, the political party that cooperates with the PKK in the regions where the Kurdish population lives densely cannot receive all the votes in the region. It definitely gets similar votes to the national parties. The people who vote for national parties are the Kurdish people who do not embrace the PKK terrorist acts and ideology. In other words, the PKK and the Kurdish political movement have never received the support of the entire Kurdish people. Because PKK mostly carried out actions in the regions where Kurds live. In the regions where the Kurdish people live, the PKK tried to put pressure by committing terrorist acts and murders, and committed murders when it found the right time by profiling the families and towns that did not support it. In the rural areas where the Kurdish people live densely, they burned and plundered public property and unfortunately killed the serving officials without mercy. He especially massacred teachers and doctors even though they served the Kurdish people. He made this a party program in order to cut the relationship of the Kurdish people with the state. I would like to close with an example. In Turkey, civil servants do not want to work in these regions. Because they are afraid that PKK will target them. In order not to leave the region to the PKK and to ensure that Kurdish citizens receive service, the state has introduced the condition of "Compulsory Service" for civil servants. When you are appointed as a teacher, doctor or police officer, you are obliged to work in that area for a certain period of time. In addition, businessmen who make industrial investments in those regions benefit from government incentives. The state has classified the regions where Kurdish people live densely as "priority regions for development".

[@gut45]

I refuse the notion that this is a Turkish Kurdish war. There are many Kurds in Turkey and in the army. This is against the terrorist groups PKK and ypg

[@54032Zepol]

Why are they labeled terrorists though?

[@hasanbasrigurbuz5075]

Ağzına sağlık

[@hasanbasrigurbuz5075]

​​@@54032Zepol killing civilian, bombing cities, murdering children and women.

[@gut45]

@@54032Zepol because they attacked and killed numerous innocent civilians with their marxist Leninist ideology. They copied the Chinese communist strategy of attack teachers and doctors to create chaos and break the desire of the people to resist. This was heavily miscalculated by them as the government armed opposing Kurdish groups. Read up and don't spout western questions. This is a demographic crisis which was created by the west after WW1 similar to what the Russians did in the Caucasus so they could keep asserting influence on minority populations, such as Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

[@1AnahtarVarElimdeHerKapiyiAcaR]

👏👏👏👏 that’s exactly what happens in there👌👌👌Turkiye has rights to protect its citizens and borders against pkk terorists👍

[@caferpeksen9334]

Great explanation for the current situation in this crisis.

[@cagatayaslan2051]

uh why our neighbors iraq and syria why don't we have a peaceful neighbor i'm so tired of that shit

[@daraa151]

If you thought fascism ended after WWII you thought wrong. Fascism has been very much alive and well in turkey. Just imagine ending up in jail for speaking your own language or worse getting murdered simply for naming your child Kurdish name.

[@dreamer2260]

Exactly. Thank fuck there's someone else in this godforsaken comment section who gets it.

[@aymenbendjeddou6670]

I always appreciate your insights James. Keep it up.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you very much indeed!

[@mclovinU2night]

There are alot of questions about the AKP/ Erdogan and the Kurds. You could tell when the PKK was formed in 1978, the West supported Turkey because the PKK was communist. Yet after Kurds won more seats in parliament 2015 and the opposition party winning seats in Istanbul, Erdogan has found himself in a miraculous conflict with every Kurd in the region. Little media coverage, and little information about the recent bombings result in a massive offensive against the Kurds. Along with the Kurds, Turkey is in conflict with other nations, so If were to add all of them together you could see Turkey trying to bring back an imperial hedgmony regime.

[@batuhanefe6911]

do you call isis terrorist group or arab groups

[@anthonyyucelkocak3206]

It is NOT Turkish Kurdish War, forget about your biased untrue comments, your title is wrong and trying to take the whole issue somewhere else. This is a war between Humanity and Truth against Terrorism. You yourself know this but it is easier to lie to serve the evil.. have a nice day....

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. But you try to explain the nuances of Ottoman expansion in a 12 minute video on the contemporary civil war in Syria. :-)

[@dreamer2260]

It is about humanity and truth against terrorism. It's just that the Turkish state is not on the side you think it is.

[@Militaria-pr9rj]

The Iranian regime hanging by a thread due to Mahsa Amini protests and Russia is barely able to keep itself from losing the war in Ukraine. Neither one of them is able to help Assad resist a Turkish invasion. If the Turks want to go in, now is the perfect time to do it.

[@hbeslanb]

Still using the word "Kurds". It is PKK.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. But I think we need to recognise that this is more than Turkey vs the PKK. Yes, I fully accept that the PKK poses a threat to Turkey. I clearly noted that it has been designated a terrorist organisation. But claiming that any invasion would merely about taking on the PKK is misrepresenting the situation. Turkey wants to stop anything that resembles a Kurdish state from emerging, either in Iraq or Syria, let alone in Turkey. This is clearly understood and has been for many decades. In this sense, any invasion would be more broadly aimed at the Kurds than you are suggesting. Now, this isn't about suggesting that Turkey's concerns are unfounded. It has every reason to want to fight the PKK. But it is important to note that arguing that this is just about tackling the PKK, as many in Turkey are, is incorrect. It goes beyond this. So, yes, I think we can say that an attack would be more broadly aimed at undermining the Kurdish entity in Syria. In this sense, it would be about Kurds more generally.

[@dannybarrs]

Excellent presentation. Surely it will be difficult for Russia to refuse Turkey's demands. What options do the Russians have given that they need to sustain Turkish neutrality in the Russo-Turkish War?

[@ErenEhrenmann]

You mean Russian-Ukraine War*

[@damasfadi456fadi2]

stop America and Kurdish Militia from stealing Syrian oil

[@fatihkanli9058]

Çok yanlı bir yayın olmuş....

[@BulanGoldstein]

Syrian war is not the cause of Syrian refugees, kicking Sunni Syrians out of Syria is the reason of the war. 1/3 of the population (around 6.5, 7 million people) forced to leave their country due bombing by Assad, Russia and USA, and they literally targeted and targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. The other 1/3 of the population became refugees in their own country. And if Turkish army pulls back from Syria that 1/3 would leave the country at the same hour. Syria had around 23 million in population before the war. In summary the main question is who needs a depopulated Syria and why? USA is actively creating a 100k army (for now) out of an official terrorist organisation and gave them 35% of the country while Kurds are around 10% of Syrian population. That terrorist organisation is in the official US defense budget and was given oil fields though Syria is not an oil rich country. USA armed them with tens of thousands of trucks loads of weaponry including thousands of anti-tank systems like so-called ISIS had tanks. And put them under cover of mid-range AA systems like ISIS had fighter jets. Another issue is why majority of Syrian Kurds do not have citizenship of Syria. Because majority (around 85%) of them came Syria (then a French mandate) from Turkey after 1920's after unsuccessful rebellions. They are not local people but somehow people falsely claim that there is a 5000 years old Syrian Kurdistan called Rojava. Do not forget to mention Kobane (Ayn al-Arab). Do you know the etymology of Kobane? It is from English word company, because there was an headquarters of an English company that was buildings railroads in 1890's. Here is your 5000 years old Rojava tall-tales. Etc., etc.

[@mojewjewjew4420]

nice theories (((goldstein)))

[@simko28]

Turkey uses PKK as an excuse to oppress and destroy any Kurdish demand for their rights, they are against any Kurdish rights even in Iraq , Syria and Iran . After WW1 many countries got rid of ottoman oppressions , but unlucky Kurdistan was linked by force to modern Turkey in 1922 and other countries, that historical mistake or crime against Kurdistan done based on interests of the colonial countries at that time, which led to many genocide and mass killing and distraction of Kurds people and towns , this going on for centuries now . Turkey today has still Ottoman time believes of ethnic cleansing of Kurds , so far they successfully changed half of the Kurdish in Turkey to Turkish , they can’t speak Kurdish language anymore, as an Iraqi Kurd myself I have met many Kurdish people from Turkey they don’t speak a word Kurdish anymore , Kurdish people in Turkey are severely oppressed and Turkey uses PKK to destroy any voices asking for equality, the attack on Istanbul wasn’t done by pkk or Kurds why Kurds in Syria will do such a small stupid crime to jeopardise their big achievements in the region as an ally to USA ? No logic in it , the woman who done that she has 4 bothers killed fighting for isis , and it’s related to Islamist extremism extremes who blame Turkey for not supporting them enough , while at beginning of Syria civil war they were founded and funded by Turkey such as Al Nusra and later became isis and then after they were defeated they came back as Nusra again supported by Turkey until today . Turkey knows that too but they still wanna destroy Kurds in Syria and they use that unfair terrorist allegation on Kurds to legitimate their invasion of Syria Kurdistan and change the demography of the area and destroy historical existence of Kurds in the region like what they still doing in Turkey. I think it’s UN work to correct that historical mistake done in 1922 and give Kurdistan back to it’s indigenous people Kurds , who had been living there since Mesopotamia time. That’s the solution for us Kurds, Lausanne treaty was crime against Kurds , Greek and Armenians we need our rights

[@umitsanl3409]

@@mojewjewjew4420 In addition, the Kurds are an Iranian people and because they were Sunni, the Shia Persians were slaughtering them. For this reason, at the beginning of the 16th century, the Ottomans had them brought to Ottoman lands to protect them. In other words, the Kurds owe their lives to the Turks

[@stephanledford9792]

Not mentioned in the video is that the Turkish inflation rate is running close to 80% per year and the economy is suffering. There is nothing like a war to take people's mind off of these two problems.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. Indeed.

[@dreamer2260]

Precisely. Erdogan reliably uses this tactic. What is unbelievable is there are so many bloodthirsty imperialistic morons that it actually works to an extent.

[@randomperson9187]

@Stephan Ledford, 80% is the "official" number that the government is giving. Independent researchers put that number a lot closer to 180%. Which makes sense considering it's in the government's interest to compile the stats in a way which make inflation look lower. The Biden administration is doing the same here by claiming we have an inflation rate of 9% when in reality everyone knows it's well over 20. Either way the inflation mess Turkey is in is A LOT worse than 80%.

[@emirhanberber9509]

@@JamesKerLindsay good evening professor. The state of inflation in Turkey is not important. Whichever government comes in, it will intervene. This is a security issue. In some comments, you said that a state is being attacked. Why did America go to Afghanistan after 9/11? Because someone hurt him and they will. That's why Turkey will go. A terrorist state established there will harm us in the future. Turkey is there for security. So why Russia, America there? What are they doing there? Divided Syria has brought many problems to Turkey. A whole and unitary Syria is more beneficial for us. Anyway, Turkey can't have any interest in occupying that place. Consider the economic burden it will bring, the state and the army know this. We tried peace in the solution process, but the terrorist organization occupied our cities. We were able to take it back. A state that is there will eventually harm Turkey. we have to. We don't live in Iceland or Canada. This is a wolves' table. If you don't stand up straight, you will be bait. It will be our so-called allies who want to eat us first.Thank you.

[@user-ph2ht9jk7o]

ممنوع

[@alexisgateley230]

Raw fact: Turkey is the ONLY country in the world that has invaded and currently illegally occupies lands of 3 neighboring countries (Syria, Iraq, Cyprus). It has openly threatened Greece with invasion about 10 times so far since September.

[@omerbarman5719]

Profesöre olan saygımdan düzgün konuşacağım. Muhtemelen Yunan vatandaşısın. Önce araştır sonra yaz. Bir grubu veya ülkeyi sevmiyorsun diye eleştirirken önce araştırma yap ki komik duruma düşme. 1: Suriye ve Irak'ta bir terör örgütü mevcut ve 50 yıldan fazladır birçok öğretmen çocuk, doktor, veya herhangi bir sivil ayrımı yapmadan teröre maruz kalan bir Türkiye var. Suriye devrim öncesine kadar bizimle gayet iyi ilişkiler içinde idi ama şimdi tamamen gruplaşmalar ve karmaşa ile dolu.. ırak ise PKK'nın saklandığı yer.. defalarca ırak hükümeti temizlemek istesede yapamamıştır ve 50 yıldır terör estiren PKK'nın yok edilmesi için ırak ta asker bulundurma ve operasyon yapmak şart oldu. Mevcut durumda Suriye için de aynı durum yaşandı. Ülkende deniz kenarında uzanırken kafana roket atılma olasılığı düsüktür ama Türkiye de sınırdan devamlı belir ve belirsiz roketler geliyor. Sence Yunanistan'da böyle bir durum olsa sessiz kalır mıydınız. ? Ahaa kalabilirsiniz ama biz kalmayacağız. 2. Deniz sınırı ana karadan başlar eğer öyle olmasa şuan tüm dünyada savaş yaşanırdı. Birçok örneği mevcut. Ama Yunanistan bizim 3km yakınımızdaki adadan deniz sınırını başlatıp bizim hiçbir şekilde ege denizinde hakkımız olmadığını söylüyor .. ironi ve komik... Oysa Türkiye ile Ege denizini güvenli ve ticaret merkezi ve huzurlu bir yer yapma teklifini kabul etseydiniz şuan ekmek alacak paranız silahlara gitmezdi. Sadece istediğimiz adil ve uluslararası bir adalet... Gidip Amerikan silahını adaya getirip arkasına saklanarak bağırmak sizi haklı yapmaz... Daha önce de yapmıştınız cevap verilmişti( karsak ;) 3. Kıbrıs ... Ahhh orda huzurla yaşamak isteyen farklı toplumlar .. malesef Yunan propagandası ile kıbrıs adasında türkler zalimce öldürlülmeye başlandı.. garantör ülke İngiltere ve diğer ülkeler sadece zevkle izliyordu.. defalarca bunun durdurulması talep edildi ama rumların yaptığı katliam durmadı.. ve Türkiye antlaşma gereği oradaki Türk halkını korumak için düğmeye bastı. Şimdi Türkiye sayesinde orda yaşayan insanlar ölümden kurtuldu.... İşte buda senin Yunan proğramlarında devamlı tartışılan Kıbrıs olayın. Orası artık ebediyen kıbrıs türklerinin .... Sabaha kadar paranızı Amerikan silahlarına vererek bitirseniz de bu durum değişmeyecek ve amerikalılar size silah sattıkları sürece durumu düzeltmeyecekler 😉

[@g1u2y345]

Don’t forget the role they played in Artsakh and Armenia too by helping Azerbaijan

[@alexisgateley230]

@@g1u2y345 and of course Libya- where the turkish army and their jihadist mercenaries are in reality an occupying force in western Libya, with the regime in Tripoli being their puppet in Turkey's strife to turn this rich in resources but ravaged country into a turkish protectorate.

[@samsol8948]

What to expect from a fascist nation? No neighbor likes them.

[@alexisgateley230]

And when Turkey speaks about terrorism, lets keep in mind that Turkey hosts and supports Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood; for years did dirty business with daesh; cooperates closely with Al Qaida and Al Nusra in northern Syria; and has created a travelling band of jihadist mercenaries, now deployed by Turkey in western Libya as occupying force.

[@LawyerAB]

As a Canadian, we are with Kurds!!!!🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 ❤❤❤❤

[@serkanister3620]

Nahh, it's an insult Canadians like me.

[@ahmettuvantuvan2921]

A B your explantion is irrational, illogical and empty. I would say only little intellingence would produce such a poor excuse to side by one or the other.

[@siakewacc1275]

We were allies with tukish since 1514 . when it was a theocratic state (even if only in form). But since they want national entities since 1923, we also simply want it But Turkey has other problem, which is its regime, which wants to export its internal problems such as (inflation, restrictions on freedoms, and interference in the affairs of its neighbors)by igniting a war with a relatively weak neighbor whose end can be controlled by them, and they will silence the opposition voices internally. Secondly, Turkey does not recognize the rights of the Kurdish people. Erdogan has now allowed the opening of a Kurdish channel and the presence of an optional subject in the school curriculum, but without any laws or constitutional articles that preserve the rights of the Kurds. In other words, everything is linked to the mood of the president, and the Kurdish people have no guarantees. In the opinion of democracy in Turkey, after 100 years, it did not succeed, and it is still considered a foreign body imposed by colonialism (according to their view) also in the eyes of Iranians and many Arabs as well. The road seems not easy for the Kurdish people, who demand democracy, decentralization and cultural diversity

[@Queenofmlbb]

Kürt hakkı da ne? Saçma sapan yorumlarını kendine sakla. Bu ülkede Türk, Kürt, laz, alevi, Hristiyan vs herkes eşit haklara sahip . Kimse kimseden ne üstün ne de aşağı. Kürt kanalı yok demişsin, program kanalları, şarkı kanalları vs var sana denk gelmemiş. Ayrıca hak konusuna gelecek olursak bir polise gitsen kürtsün diye seni dinlemiyorlar mı? Hukuk karşısında öteleniyor musunuz? Eğitim farkınız mı var? Kürtsün diye memur falan mı olamıyorsun? Allah için acındırmayın kendinizi bizim derdimiz Kürtler değil teröristler. Kendim biliyorum kaç tane çocuk kaçırdı Kürtlerden bu teröristler, yetiştirilmek için.. Kaç sene sonra geldiklerinde anlatıyorlar çoğu korkudan dönemiyor ailesine mektup yazıyor.. Senin savunduğun Kürtler değil, teröristler.. Bu örgütlerden Kürtlerin de canı yandı, Türklerin de, Lazların da vs... Ülkeyi yanlış tanıtmayın, zaten gergin bi toplumuz de haydeee 👊

[@siakewacc1275]

@@Queenofmlbb Üniversiteler bizim dilimizde eğitim veriyor mu? Hayır, bilim adamlarımız, pilotlarımız, ordu generallerimiz var mı? Hayır, siz Bulgaristan ve Kıbrıs Türklerini savunuyorsunuz da Irak, İran ve Suriye Kürtlerini savunan var mı? Türkiye nüfusunun üçte birini oluşturmuyorlar mı, çünkü hakkımız ve varlığımız olmadan komşularımız tarafından her zaman imhaya maruz kalıyoruz, bizi resmi haklarla kandırmak istiyorsunuz ama kalbinizde bunlara inanmıyorsunuz.

[@Queenofmlbb]

La ne alakası var bu ülkede Araplar da var okullarda Arapça ders mi veriliyor mesela? Kendiniz kendinizi ötekileştiriyorsunuz. Abartmayın bir kere de. Yeter.

[@siakewacc1275]

@@Queenofmlbb you do not understand

[@peterkops6431]

Thanks Prof 👍🏻👍🏻

[@Adanzeyehalilibrahim]

Could you please put it in Kurdish subtitles?

[@plutopluto6699]

Dr. Ken Lindsay, The PKK is supported by the various EU members such as France, Sweden, Germany, Greece and others. The US government's behavior depends on its relations with Turkish government..

[@juanitoatiwag4074]

Kurds are strong people because God cares for them

[@blackeagle958]

Do you mean the u.s and the west.

[@israilkolas5853]

sorry but god isnt real

[@gottmituns813]

It does not seem that Russia is serious about defending the territorial integrity of Syria, therefore Turkey will continue to do whatever it wants as they have been doing for 50 years in Cyprus for example an also in other countries like Iraq or Libya.

[@jackholler3572]

Yes and what is wrong with it ? Turkey protected Turkish cypriots from genocide with the right of being a guarantor country in cyprus. Turkey protected UN recognized government from coup general legally by invitation from government and Turkey accepted 4 million refugees attacked by syrian government and terrorists and those terrorists attacked Turkey and Turkey legally intervened by the UNs 51st article.

[@gottmituns813]

@@jackholler3572 The occupation of Cyprus is illegal under international law and has been established by the United Nations Security Council, and no country recognizes the occupation. And it is the turks who have expelled and massacred the native greek population of the island in the occupied areas. Turkey has no right to intervene in Syrian territory by expelling its native population to establish settlers.

[@jackholler3572]

@@gottmituns813 Turkey did not occupied it liberated. There is a state there that is independant from Turkey. There are 4 million refugees in Turkey coming from those occupied territory and Turkey puts them back there. 400 thousand of those refugees are kurds. They ethnically cleansed native people of that region to establish a state. They are the ones that a new settler not natuve settlers.

[@gottmituns813]

@@jackholler3572 The Turkish Republic of Cyprus is a puppet state of Ankara, not recognized by any other country or international organization in the world and Turkey violates international law and Security Council resolution 353. With the occupation of syrian territory, Turkey has changed the demography in those areas, expelling kurds and arabs to establish turkmen settlers there.

[@jackholler3572]

@@gottmituns813 Lol Turkmens are very minority. How you belive what you are saying. Turkey even hold the lands with syrian rebel army. For cyprus Norhern cyprus is heavily dependant on Turkey because no one recognizes it but it does not mean no one will recognize it as Turkic council and some other nations including russia is interested in recognizing it.

[@murad3781]

Mr. James with all respect I would like to admit that PKK is not Kurdish organization, this is established by Armenian organization ASALA, and some Kurdish groups were involved to cover up its real face, in my opinion it’s purpose to separate and break up brotherhood relationships between Turks and Kurds. There was a lot of PKK militants were caught and many of them were not even new couple words in Kurdish Thanks

[@caglarkarademir]

As a Turkish I have to say that constitutionality the majority of the Turks have got narrow minds. Therefore there is very slim chance for compassion or understanding for any other people who has got suffered under the authoritarian Turkish state over 100 years. And also I would like to add that the western intervention for economical gain has done all the damage to the land of Mid-East. Divide and rule sounds cheesy but it still works against developing or underdeveloped nations around the world.

[@dreamer2260]

Oh my god; huge respect to you. It is so incredibly fucking rare to see this perspective from Turks online. What a relief even to see one single comment in this comments section with this view amongst the usual endless nationalist bloodthirsty unthinking drivel.

[@caglarkarademir]

@@dreamer2260 this is engraved to our skin, it would do the same effect on anyone from other nations too. It is not easy to come out from that mind set.

[@dreamer2260]

@@caglarkarademir Yep; people from every nation have the choice to engage in a battle within themselves to eliminate the urge towards supremacist nationalism, pride in imperialism, domination of others etc. Very difficult to do if you have not been taught how to do it and experience propaganda pushing it etc. Again, great respect.

[@caglarkarademir]

@@dreamer2260 what is a nation?what is a flag?what is state?what is a physical and psychological border?What is a religion?what are these?IThese all are in our minds because we have been thought this way so.

[@dreamer2260]

@@caglarkarademir There are clear definitions for basically all of these, but agreed that many people accept these things as a given without really questioning their legitimacy.

[@dankahraman354]

Very well done as always...

[@collnorway]

My parents are kurds from Turkiye. I myself are born and raised in Norway, so I honestly might not be the right person to speak on this matter. But, I don’t necessarily see the advantage of having a kurdish state in the region, as the country would have no sea border (bad economy) and would have difficult neighbors. Honestly the best idea would be to unite kurdish speaking people in syria and iraq with turkiye, and implement a federal system. That’s why I don’t see a problem with the invasion. I know that my opinion is controversial and see how it may be interpreted as neo-ottomanism, but these are my opinion. I wanted to share my opinion to give some diversity on the matter, as even kurdish people might have different opinions. And I also think you have made good reflections on the issue! Thanks.

[@roejogan2693]

The Kurdish language spoken in southern Iraqi Kurdistan is very different from the Kurdish language spoken in Turkey.

[@g1u2y345]

The issue with your idea is it has been shown many times how Turkey deals with minorities.. It wasn’t long ago when they started allowing Kurdish to be spoken in schools again. They could easily reverse this or do far worse like they did to the Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians

[@markdowding5737]

Besides the fact, that does not make Turkey's invasion any less illegal, what makes you so sure that Turkey would respect the rights of the Kurds living there? Turkey says it plans on re-settling millions of refugees in the areas it plans to occupy, which will probably lead to hundreds of thousands of Kurdish refugees having to flee the region as they did in 2016. How does that help in any way the Syrian Kurds or any Kurds at all?

[@hun2591]

@@g1u2y345 ignorant people shouldn't speak everywhere get a life

[@g1u2y345]

@@hun2591 It isn’t me who speaks with ignorance..

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

Another great video. I was aware of some of the basic facts of history but this was perhaps the best 'short video' on the topic I've seen discussing the relevant history and current situation. This wouldn't be a problem if Turkey 100 years ago had agreed to a free Kurdish state but they decided they wanted that region and war ensued. The past is unfortunately the past and now that the territory belongs to Turkey, there is no chance Turkey will ever allow it be independence. PKK have also engaged in terrorism making things more difficult to gather international support for independence even if the chance for independence was already close to 0. I don't trust Erdogan one bit and I'm sure he will take any opportunity to punish all Kurds if given the chance. Will he invade Syria? Depends on how much pushback is coming from his NATO partners. If there isn't a very high amount of pushback with some consequences, I do think he will invade.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. As you’ve probably seen, the comments section has been overrun by various nationalist types insisting that this isn’t aimed at the Kurds. I accept that the PKK is a part of this, but pretending that this isn’t about Kurdish identity more generally is very dishonest. It is. They know that. The Kurds in Syria know it. And most outside observers know it. It’s always interesting to see the reaction to videos. Funnily enough, most seemed more triggered by the thumbnail than the actual content!

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

@@JamesKerLindsay Yes, I was responding to many of them. Almost every video on the topic of Turkey, China and Russia get flooded with nationalist of those countries that will use strawman arguments to argue against the video. Or they cherry pick some data or event in order to try to discredit the video. I'm also seeing a huge wave of Indian nationalist on on YT and reddit and other platforms. I guess it's not too hard for me to understand given videos about Trump also get a wave supporters using the same argument techniques but at least that seems to represent just specific subgroup of Americans. Make a fair and balanced video discussing the US in say Iraq or Afghanistan or make a video of British colonial rule and impact or make a video on any European country with similar events and you will usually see relatively fewer nationalist and many from that country acknowledging the mistakes and bad deeds of their country in those videos.

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

@@JamesKerLindsay There appears to be some very strong connection between the strength of nationalism in a country and the need for individuals in that country to defend just about everything their country does. I'm American and despite rising nationalism here, it still isn't as bad as Turkey, Russia, China, etc. But when compared to western and northern Europe, US certainly has a lot of nationalism. Europeans appear to be able to take criticism more than Americans. Americans tend to be able to take criticism of their country more than say Russia or China.

[@ozgurtaskiran3616]

Turkey knows after iragi Kurdistan if part of Syria held by Kurds turkey part is next that why turkey don’t wanted Kurds held rojawa but this is international plan look at history Kurdistan divided 4 by the England and France now they’re fixing they’re mess

[@hannibalbarca3139]

@@Homer-OJ-Simpson YPG denilen örgüt ABD nin Suriye'de ki petrol bekçisinden başka bir sey değildir .Gerektiğinde ABD tarafından feda edilebilir. Sonra ne olacak ,ABD Vietnam ve Afganistan'dan kaçtığı gibi Suriye'den kaçacak ve paralı askerlerini terk edecek ve biz yine burada olacağız. Bunun fanatik olmakla bir ilgisi yok ,bu sadece aptal olmak ya da olmamakla akalalidir. NATO denilen oluşum sadece ABD yi korumak için vardır . Türkiye bunun aksi durumunu kendi çıkarına her zaman kullanacaktır. Gerekirse Rusya ile de çin ile de görüşürüz. ABD ile Türkiye arasında ki asıl problem budur .

[@NoName-cd7jf]

Don't make us angry we had 3 continents

[@alittlestoryy]

middle east is not a continent

[@NoName-cd7jf]

@@alittlestoryy in 1600 Asia Europe Africa

[@peterkops6431]

Bad luck to be born a Kurd for centuries now ☹️☹️

[@suswanto4777]

Most of kurds live peacefully, prosperous in turkey. Pathetic, poor kurds live in mountain, paid by USA & EU to attack turkey

[@axmedazeez]

As a Kurd, I genuinely enjoy all your content and especially the ones which discuss Kurdistan. Thank you, professor!

[@akikoyamamoto4404]

you are a perception agent orientalist interpretations are the one-sided imperialist view of the west.you interpret events according to your business interese You are making peoples fight by bringing ethnic sects to the fore, I ask you why did you establish the European Union/Don't you still hate Africa You've been in Africa for 200 years, what did you give to the African peoples/You took the men's wives, their lands, their identity, and even now, france is still robbing 500 billion dollars a year. I want to tell you, but you don't have that face to be ashamed of

[@axmedazeez]

@@akikoyamamoto4404 No clue what you're talking about. I assume you are talking about the professor. I believe his interpretations of world events is rather unbiased and commendable.

[@kristJ25]

Lindsay you know more than enough about this make sure you bank this. I LOVE history so what is going to happen to Shamina Begum from that camp in Syria. I ask this because a some women basketball player with cannibas got traded in for an known arms dealer. I have watched banged up abroad????🙄🙄

[@simko28]

Turkey uses PKK as an excuse to oppress and destroy any Kurdish demand for their rights, they are against any Kurdish rights even in Iraq , Syria and Iran . After WW1 many countries got rid of ottoman oppressions , but unlucky Kurdistan was linked by force to modern Turkey in 1922 and other countries, that historical mistake or crime against Kurdistan done based on interests of the colonial countries at that time, which led to many genocide and mass killing and distraction of Kurds people and towns , this going on for centuries now . Turkey today has still Ottoman time believes of ethnic cleansing of Kurds , so far they successfully changed half of the Kurdish in Turkey to Turkish , they can’t speak Kurdish language anymore, as an Iraqi Kurd myself I have met many Kurdish people from Turkey they don’t speak a word Kurdish anymore , Kurdish people in Turkey are severely oppressed and Turkey uses PKK to destroy any voices asking for equality, the attack on Istanbul wasn’t done by pkk or Kurds why Kurds in Syria will do such a small stupid crime to jeopardise their big achievements in the region as an ally to USA ? No logic in it , the woman who done that she has 4 bothers killed fighting for isis , and it’s related to Islamist extremism extremes who blame Turkey for not supporting them enough , while at beginning of Syria civil war they were founded and funded by Turkey such as Al Nusra and later became isis and then after they were defeated they came back as Nusra again supported by Turkey until today . Turkey knows that too but they still wanna destroy Kurds in Syria and they use that unfair terrorist allegation on Kurds to legitimate their invasion of Syria Kurdistan and change the demography of the area and destroy historical existence of Kurds in the region like what they still doing in Turkey. I think it’s UN work to correct that historical mistake done in 1922 and give Kurdistan back to it’s indigenous people Kurds , who had been living there since Mesopotamia time. That’s the solution for us Kurds, Lausanne treaty was crime against Kurds , Greek and Armenians we need our rights

[@athhelas]

I am sorry to say that but this is really really an observational study. first of all the reference point is wrong? why went to 13.th century. before 13th century and before mongols those lands were under control of another Turkish statte like sekjuks, harzemshas, etc. And the other side => after cyprus war (1974) US and Europeanr goverments started to find and support nationalist kurdish people and gave them gun, money , etc... Normalyy a Kurdish and Turkish people living in peace centuries but after 1st ww. Great Britain and other ally forces claims there must be a kurdish state on that goegrapyh. That s funny and really ridicuolus. Everything is transparent. Before cyprus war; only in 1920 a Kurdish seyh made a deal wiith ally forces and in Turkey this know as "Teali Kürt İslam Cemiyeti" => you can made a research about this group. These kind of groups were created after Ottoman Empire's demonstration with the support of Ally forces to divide empire into small ethnic groups and and to create caos. From west; it looks very different to you because you learned history only from western sources :( We can find the answer with answering these basic questions => 1-) who found and match this nationalist people (you need to make a reserach about Abdullah Ocalan), (said-i nursi and other historic safevi sources) answer => Great Briatin => normally firest kurdish rebelionm started in 1800s before they take side on ottoman or safevi side. 2-) Who gave money and guns to these supported people. answer => after cyprus war all western countries. Also if you want ,you can find Uğur Mumcu's research about Kurdish problem ; for academic => Erol Mutercimler can help you and least ?> PKK is not a party. How dare to define a terrorist gruop as a political party. First political kurdish party were created in Irak = > "Molla Mustafa Barzani" check this name please. Please add here a really well studied video and verify it with history. Also please and please make resarch about Kurdish tribes. Latest edit => The Kurdistan map you referred on videos's fist minutes were created in 1920. Normally you can'T find a map about kurdistan in whole history! => translted source is here => www-bernamegeh-com.translate.goog/kurdistan-ismi-nasil-ortaya-cikti-ilk-ne-zaman-kullanildi/?_x_tr_sl=tr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=tr&_x_tr_pto=wappwww-bernamegeh-com.translate.goog/kurdistan-ismi-nasil-ortaya-cikti-ilk-ne-zaman-kullanildi/?_x_tr_sl=tr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=tr&_x_tr_pto=wapp

[@patrickhenry6695]

Hello Prof, I believe it is also worth noting how Rojave and ISIS initially had a non-aggression policy in de-facto alliance against Syria's Govt. It was only after ISIS began encroaching upon Kurdish held territory did they even fight ISIS.

[@Eecee27]

I think people are being teased. Why did the US cooperate with the Kurds when there was an Israeli and Turkish army? How many million Syrians have left their homes? There are more than 6 million Syrians in Turkey. 33% of Syria was given to a small minority. Russia-backed Assad and Turkey with millions of Syrians will not consent to this. This is what should happen.

[@shahriyarhakhamanashiya4626]

@@Eecee27 Also 33% of Syria which is in great part uncultivated drylands and desert, Rojava doesn't control 33% of the syrian population. Additionally they are allied to several other minorities (assyrians, Banu Shammar and chaldeans mostly).

[@izzeterkan405]

You are talking about Turks, but there is no Turkish translation in the subtitles, why?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Blimey! Give me a moment! I’ve only just uploaded it! KZbin doesn’t prepare the subtitles for several hours. They then need to be edited for accuracy. (My Saturday mornings!) I will try to get it done tomorrow morning. You’re welcome!

[@aiminferyadi]

erkann learn english amk

[@sufthegoat]

It should

[@n2201]

The Turkish economy and inflation were such a big news for so long. can we say Erdogan economics works?

[@Clifford_Banes]

You had a video with a similar title: Will Russia invade Ukraine? Will history repeat itself?

[@joetrump2983]

Yes and this will show NATO double standards

[@soulsirius]

Professor, please allow me to make a correction for topic header. Turkey have no war against "Kurds" but the proxy group named PKK. Second point I need to point out is, there were no such thing as "traditional" Kurdish areas in before and after 13th century. The Zagros mountainous region is the place which named as Kurdistan by the Seljuks who ruled those lands before Ottomans. There was no Kurdish existing in eastern Anatolia before Turks. There is no single concrete evidence prooving such claim which say Kurds were living in those landa before Turks.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. I have tackled this in a few other comments. I know that many in Turkey will argue that this is all about Turkey and the PKK and not Turkey and the Kurds. However, I would disagree with this narrow reading. I fully accept that the PKK poses a threat to Turkey. I clearly noted that it has been designated a terrorist organisation. But an invasion would be about more than taking on the PKK. Turkey wants to stop anything that resembles a Kurdish state from emerging; in Iraq, Syria or Turkey. This is clearly understood and has been for many decades. In this sense, any invasion would be more broadly aimed at the Kurds. Now, this isn't about suggesting that Turkey's security concerns are unfounded. It has every reason to want to fight the PKK. I accept that. But it is important to push back on the idea that this is just about tackling the PKK, as many in Turkey suggest. It goes beyond this.

[@soulsirius]

@@JamesKerLindsay Do you think Turkey is alone with the idea of opposing a new phony state which will lead to divide not only Turkey but 3 other countries? How about Arabs and Iranians? What is PKK aiming you think, bring democracy and freedom with carnations? Is west including your country give unlimited support to PKK for the sake of peace and prosperity of the region? PKK poses threat you say, what's that threat? You are comfortably labeling Turkey's legitimate rights to protect herself as "invasion" but you never spare a word that your imperial west's actions in the region in last 100 years. The US, the UK, France and their collaborators have a right to travel from thousands kms away and come up with phony pretexts such as "security concerns", fighting ISIS which they themselves invented, trained, armed and controlled BUT Turkey who has no right to intervene and stop the threat away from her borders?? Really? Except Kurds(as a matter of fact, not all Kurds want this as west serve to the public) nobody wants a second Israel in the region which will bring nothing but more problems in the region. Everybody is sick and tired of your democracy and freedom lies. Every single sensible person regardless of their ethnical background know very well the true motive behind that fake narratives.

[@TheLocalLt]

Sorry I am late to get to this one, very important topic for sure, honestly I’ve been wondering when you were going to do a video about some of the proto-states that have emerged in Syria and their various conflicts; thanks for taking a look at it professor. While it may not happen at this time, in my lay man’s opinion it seems inevitable that at some point Turkey will commence another operation in Northern Syria, if for nothing else than to connect the three enclaves they currently hold and make their puppet state, the Syrian Interim Government, at least somewhat defensible and a viable entity. Turkey’s Syrian proxy forces also hold some territory around Idlib, where the city is controlled by an al-Qaeda affiliated Islamist regime, the Syrian Salvation Government (the map you used curiously labeled this area as “opposition”, might want to use a different resource for future Syria-related videos). Turkey also reportedly sent the Syrian proxies to fight in the 2020 Caucasus War for Turkish ally Azerbaijan. What Turkey solidifying it’s presence means for the future of Syria remains to be seen, but I suppose the same can be said for all of the various statelets that have emerged in the largely frozen conflict. Further complicating matters, Turkey’s proxy state is not a breakaway state, but instead claims to be the legitimate regime in all of Syria. In any case I’m glad you took a look at this, thanks as always for the video!

[@damasfadi456fadi2]

stop America and Kurdish Militia from stealing Syrian oil

[@jurimiller3068]

the ordinary us citizen does not know where syria is but the us soldier brings "democracy" to syria, after afganistan and iraq were "democratized".

[@eyup_sahin]

I respect your title. no doubt you deserved it. But the content of this video does not need your title. Very superficial explanation, even far from the truth. As I see, for you everything is happening naturally. No any country wants to create a confliction between the countries? You mentioned above that you don't belive peaceful intention when a county invades another. Can you please tell me why did US sent YPG over 50000 container weapon. To create peace in Syria? Please don't tell me that they are fighting against ISIS.

[@ozgurtaskiran3616]

Let’s say you’re right kurds don’t fight against isis but they don’t support isis and turkey don’t fight against isis turkey support isis

[@Sam_willi]

Unfortunately, the Turks people they don’t accept Kurds and Greece people and Armenians.. They still don’t understand those people are living in their own lands before Turks came from Middle of Asia! Who’s have right to make decision.? the native people like Kurds , armenians and greece.. or who’s came from long far away? I want to tell the Turks one word: Please understand that..! Please read the History please open your mind just little bit!! Free Kurdistan free Armenia

[@Sam_willi]

@Olaf no to understand that we living in our own lands we didn’t came from middle of Asia.. So u don’t have right to stopped me to speak my mother language or to say that am Kurd! Do u understand the problem???? Do you?????

[@Olek9545]

I personally think you haven’t studied this topic well.I don’t think you are fair.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

I have worked on Turkey for 30 years. I was clear that the PKK is classed as a terrorist organisation. But we need to be clear that any invasion stretches beyond the PKK. So instead of saying I’m ignorant about the issue or not fair simply because I say something you don’t like, let’s try to have a sensible informed conversation about the issue.

[@Olek9545]

I think you should study little bit more on Turkish ideology.Ideology what based on expanding and doesn’t give breathing space for others ,thanks

[@desarman]

He's creating a perception in the way desired of his bosses. He's being paid for this influence. That's the end of the story.

[@atahirince]

It is pretty one-sided conculutions that repeating what you want to beleive but it is ok.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. But that doesn’t tell me anything. It would help to explain why it is one-sided.

[@atahirince]

@@JamesKerLindsay should mention at least three side of the story for honest proclamation of yours: why US and western alias except Turkey is helping and provide weapons even though ypg part of international terrorist organization PKk and also repeating themselves again and again ypg only representative figure of syrian Kurd (it is not look at sdf). Second, why Turkey taking serious measure against PKK sub groups, and misjudged by his “allies” always Turkey is acting against Kurds although working closely Iraqi Kurdistan and fight agains pkk for a long time. And third, Syrian government, Iran and Russia present into territory and why us want to be there crucially and can’t do without local justification. Means leverage using Kurds. Anyway, it is ok. For western long term benefits and plans I can understand why one-sided misinformation spreading usually. But being professor should be something like professionalism and objectivity.

[@stoso9864]

Free Kurdistan

[@alonelymockbird3899]

Never was and never will ;)

[@Yekemcar]

Thank you prof. James to your efforts and explaining. Just a historical beaten reality, the truth is PKK itself, it had be made by turkish security service, and then it went out of turkish control. An by this kind of striking turkey trys to gain control it again. Even Ocalan, leader of PKK, was speaking about thay many times and mentioned it in his books, and was saying: " I had took money from to creat PKK and then to fight turkey ". Ocalan was mentioning that fact as pride viewpoint as a smart person he was ! After assassination of 3 female PKK's members in Paris city 2013, by hand of anorher PKK's member who fled to turkey, and who was working with 1st and 2nd class members of PKK. Explains very well that turkey has another members inside PKK to replace that one and burns his cart. And especially mentions that there are inside turkish government who don't like to stop war, because them benefits are on edge ... (War Lord !)

[@AKIN180]

which country wants terorist near there borders, its syria,and its not kurdistan

[@trueordrue]

Imagine you country is having terror attacks and you can't fight back

[@shellohd8421]

Turkey bombed many of the terrorists for revenge

[@wankawanka3053]

Imagine not having a country and experiencing that

[@marccreter9348]

Turkey has enough problems at home right now that they should be focusing on

[@divinejusticefeelsgood]

They wouldn't ask a stooge on the internet which issues they'll give priority

[@user-gd2rg8xg2y]

@@divinejusticefeelsgood no, they'd just ask all the stooges in erdogan's joke of a government

[@divinejusticefeelsgood]

@@user-gd2rg8xg2y yeah that " joke of a government " is bringing the USA and Europe to their knees.

[@user-gd2rg8xg2y]

@@divinejusticefeelsgood erdogan can't even bring his own military to its knees, inflation is at an all time high, my country is filled with migrants that can't be controlled. You know nothing of my country and how erdogan has ruined it.

[@koktengri8724]

You cant talk for us, know your place.

[@ufukmolla7402]

Why are you trying to portray the events as a Turkish-Kurdish issue?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Why do you think it wouldn't be seen in this way?

[@ufukmolla7402]

@@JamesKerLindsay There is no hostilities nor systematic discrimination between Turkish and Kurdish society. Also the title you put on the cover of the video is quite inappropriate. If there was a Turkish-Kurdish war, wouldn't Türkiye, which has the largest Kurdish population in the world, turn into a bloodbath?

[@desarman]

@@ufukmolla7402 One of the founders of the game, the British, how do you expect them to be objective? They will create a perception in the way desired from them

[@OmarSufianLY]

Thank you, James, for your helpful video and the analysis. I want to notify you that the terminology of “Arab spring” is quite misleading and incorrect. Yet, it is a racist terminology that contradicts many facts that the Pan-Arabists want to hide. The indigenous peoples of North Africa, the Amazigh/Berbers, are the main contributors to the uprisings; in fact, the repression of the dominant Arabist regimes against the indigenous groups ignited revolutions in the region.

[@TY-zh9ek]

Turkey is not fighting against Kurdish citiziens. There are Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds living there. Turkey is protecting them against all types of terrorist groups. Turkey also have Kurdish citiziens. One of the past president of Turkey was Kurdish. We don't have any problems with any Kurds.

[@ercangulsen88]

Correction: 72 million Kurd worldwide!

[@alonelymockbird3899]

Not really

[@kiymetgogce6748]

teşekkürler

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you too!

[@onurum10]

Why supplying arms to terrorists background and activities know terrorist groups renamed YPG SDF after PKK which seems to fight against ISIS an in effective fight instead of letting Turkey do the job as done and killed 2000+ isis terrorists in a short AL Baab operation. Turks would not blackmail to release the captured ISIS terrorists as PKK YOG SDF groups. Unless to cause more instability and form another terror armed group like taliban the results of which is seen. If you arm such terrorist groups either they blackmail you and attack to have your support to continue.

[@DarkDennis1961]

I am going to sit back and observe the imminent Turkish backlash here in the comments. Despise this factual and accurate video, just showing a map saying Kurdistan will bring it.

[@dreamer2260]

Yep. It's disgusting and pathetic.

[@AxelThorKolbeinsson]

The fact that Turkey's actions in Syria killed civilians from other NATO countries did not help their image in those countries. That and other issues such as the accession of Finland and Sweden has caused a lot of irritation towards Turkey in northern Europe. An irritation so strong that various parties have looked into what it would take to expel Turkey from NATO. And there seems to be some irritation in Turkey that Kurdish-born or second generation immigrants now serve in parliaments in northern Europe.

[@cuneyttevfikyldz8113]

If you are looking for someone who kills civilians in our region, I suggest you look into the US and Israeli armies.

[@exarder1377]

The fact that our so called allies are funding, training and supporting a terror organisation that murded 40.000 Turkish citizens doesn't help their image in our country either. Without Turkey NATO loses the black sea and the middle east. Good luck!

[@AxelThorKolbeinsson]

@@exarder1377 There are more NATO countries than Turkey with access to the Black sea, and some would ask why the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should be involved in Middle eastern or Asian matters.

[@AxelThorKolbeinsson]

@@cuneyttevfikyldz8113 Neither the US nor Israel have killed Icelandic citizens in or near Syria. Turkey has.

[@cuneyttevfikyldz8113]

@@AxelThorKolbeinsson I don't understand where the Island came from? But the Turkish army, unlike the USA and Israel, tries to do the least harm to civilians. Israel killed 926 civilians and injured 5303 in the Gaza attack (2008). Operation Hot Winter ( 2008 ) Israel killed 52 civilians and 350 wounded , Operation Pillar of Defense ( 2012 ) Israel killed 105 civilians and 971 wounded , Operation Protective Edge ( 2014 ) Israel killed 1617 civilians and 10626 wounded , In February 2016, Defence for Children International accused the Israeli army of the intentional killing of Palestinian children in the West Bank. It said that the IDF had killed more than 180 civil Palestinians since the unrest began in October 2015, including 49 children.2021 Israel-Palestine crisis Israel killed 284 civilians and 3515 wounded . USA killed 3664 Iraqi civilians in First Iraq War ( 1990-1991 ) , 113,728 civilian killed in second Iraq War ( 2003-2011 ) , War in Afghanistan ( 2001-2021 ) USA killed 212191 civilians , Vietnam War ( 1963-1972 ) USA killed 363000 civilians , etc. While Turkey strikes terrorist targets , it pays attention that there are no civilians near the Terrorists , and even delays operations if there is any doubt , so all Syrian citizens trust Turkey , whether they are Kurds , Arabs or Turks , except for the Terrorists !