Maybe they haven't served their purpose. Maybe Uncle Sam envisions them carving out a "Rojava" in Eastern Syria.
But this is not viable, for several reasons. Any Kurdish state would have to occupy land that is currently part of Turkey, Syria, Iraq or Iran. No country ever willingly gives up part of its territory. The creation of a Kurdish state in even one of the four countries mentioned above would unite all of them against this; all other issues between them would be at least temporarily shelved, as they fear their own Kurdish areas would want to secede and attach themselves to the new Kurdish entity.
For whatever reason, the Turks consider the Kurds an existential threat, and surely they would invade, full-bore to prevent the formation of a Kurdish state, and the other nations involved would do likewise.
And if somehow it got off the ground? It would be an entirely landlocked country, surrounded by hostile powers. All they would have to do is shut down the borders, and economically, it would all collapse.
Unfortunately for the Kurds, they don't hold a good hand. It seems few people in the region trust them, geography is against them, and Kurdish independence is a red line for all the regional powers.
Since all they hold is a busted flush, the best they can do is negotiate for some limited local autonomy within the four countries where they live.
In addition to the recent policy changes you describe above, Hillary has only quite recently stated that she opposes the TPP and TTIP trade deals, after having been a supporter for years.
Personally, I don't believe her; she is too much in hock to the same multi-national corporate and Wall Street interests who want these treaties. I expect if she is elected, she will find some way to weasel out of her new-found opposition, and help shepherd them through the approval process.
These treaties both contain a dispute resolution set-up that allows corporations to sue governments for lost profits should those governments enact environmental or health restrictions on various imports. Worse, such lawsuits wouldn't even be heard in any nation's courts, but through some sort of external arbitration panel. This appears to be a sell out of national sovereignty to some globalized structure that has no loyalty to any country. Any self-respecting head of state should consider signing off on any such thing to be High Treason. I'm sure that had anyone suggested such ideas to Henry VIII, their heads would be adorning the spiked fence around Westminster.
In addition, Hillary seems to have never seen a "regime change" opportunity that she hasn't enthusiastically embraced and advocated for. Her hands are tainted with a considerable amount of the blood that continues to be shed in the destruction of Iraq, Libya and Syria. She still talks of a imposing a no-fly restriction over Syria, even though this will not be permitted by the Russians. If she thinks getting rid of Assad is worth American and Russian planes shooting each other down, with the likelihood of its escalating out of control, then she's completely insane.
Trump is clearly a buffoon and foul-mouth, racist and misogynist. But if the Hildebeest gets elected, we could well be in the position that Europe was in early 1914. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Maybe they haven't served their purpose. Maybe Uncle Sam envisions them carving out a "Rojava" in Eastern Syria.
But this is not viable, for several reasons. Any Kurdish state would have to occupy land that is currently part of Turkey, Syria, Iraq or Iran. No country ever willingly gives up part of its territory. The creation of a Kurdish state in even one of the four countries mentioned above would unite all of them against this; all other issues between them would be at least temporarily shelved, as they fear their own Kurdish areas would want to secede and attach themselves to the new Kurdish entity.
For whatever reason, the Turks consider the Kurds an existential threat, and surely they would invade, full-bore to prevent the formation of a Kurdish state, and the other nations involved would do likewise.
And if somehow it got off the ground? It would be an entirely landlocked country, surrounded by hostile powers. All they would have to do is shut down the borders, and economically, it would all collapse.
Unfortunately for the Kurds, they don't hold a good hand. It seems few people in the region trust them, geography is against them, and Kurdish independence is a red line for all the regional powers.
Since all they hold is a busted flush, the best they can do is negotiate for some limited local autonomy within the four countries where they live.
Antoinetta III
If I recall correctly, David Cameron, while he was still Prime Minister said: "Turkey may be ready to join the EU, sometime around the year 3000."
Antoinetta III
In addition to the recent policy changes you describe above, Hillary has only quite recently stated that she opposes the TPP and TTIP trade deals, after having been a supporter for years.
Personally, I don't believe her; she is too much in hock to the same multi-national corporate and Wall Street interests who want these treaties. I expect if she is elected, she will find some way to weasel out of her new-found opposition, and help shepherd them through the approval process.
These treaties both contain a dispute resolution set-up that allows corporations to sue governments for lost profits should those governments enact environmental or health restrictions on various imports. Worse, such lawsuits wouldn't even be heard in any nation's courts, but through some sort of external arbitration panel. This appears to be a sell out of national sovereignty to some globalized structure that has no loyalty to any country. Any self-respecting head of state should consider signing off on any such thing to be High Treason. I'm sure that had anyone suggested such ideas to Henry VIII, their heads would be adorning the spiked fence around Westminster.
In addition, Hillary seems to have never seen a "regime change" opportunity that she hasn't enthusiastically embraced and advocated for. Her hands are tainted with a considerable amount of the blood that continues to be shed in the destruction of Iraq, Libya and Syria. She still talks of a imposing a no-fly restriction over Syria, even though this will not be permitted by the Russians. If she thinks getting rid of Assad is worth American and Russian planes shooting each other down, with the likelihood of its escalating out of control, then she's completely insane.
Trump is clearly a buffoon and foul-mouth, racist and misogynist. But if the Hildebeest gets elected, we could well be in the position that Europe was in early 1914. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Antoinetta III