David Graeber, you claim that Peshmergas did not have any involvement in taking Sinjar. You write of my article "the piece falsely claims it was the Peshmerga who cut their way through ISIS lines to save the Yazidis trapped on Sinjar. This is utterly untrue." Here is a typical story from an embedded reporter who was with the Peshmerga when they took Sinjar. In it the reporter writes "On the morning of the offensive to clear ISIS from Sinjar City, the thud of airstrikes shook the earth as the Kurdish peshmerga fighters headed into battle...Peshmerga commander General Zaim Ali looked toward the highway where he was leading his men. Tanks, bulldozers, and soldiers from the engineering unit led the attack to clear explosives in preparation for the infantry to follow...“The peshmerga did their best and the PKK did their best, but we need to defend our own land." There are many eyewitness stories in the media of journalists who were with the Peshmergas when they took Sinjar in conjunction with the PKK and YPG. This story I just quoted has a photo of the Peshmergas fighting at Sinjar. I personally met Peshmerga commanders who were there for the battle at Sinjar. You are welcome to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Anybody who reads this can do a simple search for "Peshmergas retake Sinjar" and see you are living in an alternative universe. And I'm not downplaying the role of the YPG or PKK who also played a role in the campaign. Here is the article by the reporter embedded with the Peshmergas as they retook Sinjar with the PKK and YPG with a photo of the event: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/13/kurds-retake-sinjar-almost-too-easily.html
David Graeber, I was in Kurdistan with my colleague Professor Adam Sulkowski on the front lines with ISIS at a Forward Operating Base known as Roshan overlooking the Mosul dam and there I met with General Bandal Bande. And there I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and interviewing dozens of female Peshmerga soldiers. I collected their remarkable stories, got to know them, and photographed them. Please see my photos at: http://www.brianglynwilliams.com (under Field Research, Iraqi Kurdistan). There are about a dozen photos of female peshmergas there. Where on earth do you get off stating of me "This author, who as noted above is (or at least was) employed directly by the CIA, has a history of such deception. For instance here is a piece he wrote claiming the Peshmerga have been putting women on the front lines in combat." Have you been to Kurdistan? If you go to the frontlines you can meet female peshmergas for yourself instead of sitting at home and calling other people liars. And I did work for the CIA, tracking Taliban suicide bombers in Afghanistan, what does that have to do with female peshmergas or the price of tea in Mosul? And when I was in Kurdistan, I met with Masrour Barzani the head of Kurdistani intelligence who bemoaned the fact that his troops had abandoned Sinjar, but stressed that Peshmergas had worked in conjunction with YPG (who are not considered "terrorists" by the US as you claim) and PKK to recapture Sinjar. It was a joint operation. There are many accounts of Peshmergas being involved in that operation on the internet. Stop trolling on the internet, get to Kurdistan and do some fieldwork for yourself. You will see female peshmergas if you have the courage to do so.
David Graeber, you claim that Peshmergas did not have any involvement in taking Sinjar. You write of my article "the piece falsely claims it was the Peshmerga who cut their way through ISIS lines to save the Yazidis trapped on Sinjar. This is utterly untrue." Here is a typical story from an embedded reporter who was with the Peshmerga when they took Sinjar. In it the reporter writes "On the morning of the offensive to clear ISIS from Sinjar City, the thud of airstrikes shook the earth as the Kurdish peshmerga fighters headed into battle...Peshmerga commander General Zaim Ali looked toward the highway where he was leading his men. Tanks, bulldozers, and soldiers from the engineering unit led the attack to clear explosives in preparation for the infantry to follow...“The peshmerga did their best and the PKK did their best, but we need to defend our own land." There are many eyewitness stories in the media of journalists who were with the Peshmergas when they took Sinjar in conjunction with the PKK and YPG. This story I just quoted has a photo of the Peshmergas fighting at Sinjar. I personally met Peshmerga commanders who were there for the battle at Sinjar. You are welcome to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Anybody who reads this can do a simple search for "Peshmergas retake Sinjar" and see you are living in an alternative universe. And I'm not downplaying the role of the YPG or PKK who also played a role in the campaign. Here is the article by the reporter embedded with the Peshmergas as they retook Sinjar with the PKK and YPG with a photo of the event: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/13/kurds-retake-sinjar-almost-too-easily.html
David Graeber, I was in Kurdistan with my colleague Professor Adam Sulkowski on the front lines with ISIS at a Forward Operating Base known as Roshan overlooking the Mosul dam and there I met with General Bandal Bande. And there I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and interviewing dozens of female Peshmerga soldiers. I collected their remarkable stories, got to know them, and photographed them. Please see my photos at: http://www.brianglynwilliams.com (under Field Research, Iraqi Kurdistan). There are about a dozen photos of female peshmergas there. Where on earth do you get off stating of me "This author, who as noted above is (or at least was) employed directly by the CIA, has a history of such deception. For instance here is a piece he wrote claiming the Peshmerga have been putting women on the front lines in combat." Have you been to Kurdistan? If you go to the frontlines you can meet female peshmergas for yourself instead of sitting at home and calling other people liars. And I did work for the CIA, tracking Taliban suicide bombers in Afghanistan, what does that have to do with female peshmergas or the price of tea in Mosul? And when I was in Kurdistan, I met with Masrour Barzani the head of Kurdistani intelligence who bemoaned the fact that his troops had abandoned Sinjar, but stressed that Peshmergas had worked in conjunction with YPG (who are not considered "terrorists" by the US as you claim) and PKK to recapture Sinjar. It was a joint operation. There are many accounts of Peshmergas being involved in that operation on the internet. Stop trolling on the internet, get to Kurdistan and do some fieldwork for yourself. You will see female peshmergas if you have the courage to do so.