Turkish Imperialism: Whither the Syrian Kurds?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

75% : While the withdrawal decision seemed a matter of time given Trump's electoral promises and "America First" approach, its timing, lack of contingency planning, and manner of execution created a perfect storm.
52% : ConclusionAn autonomous or semi-independent Kurdish entity in northern Syria (and Iraq for that matter) has been in the best interest of Washington at least since the Arab turbulence of the early 2010s, especially, but not exclusively, as a buffer to the expansion of militant Islam in both its Sunni (al-Qaeda, ISIS, and their likes) and Shiite (the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hezbollah) forms.
44% : Keenly aware of this position, and eager to ensure U.S. backing, in July 2020 the PYD inked a deal with Delta Crescent Energy LLC, a private American oil company, for the exploitation of the oilfields under its control, in a move that was promptly condemned by Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Russia as a "theft of Syria's national wealth.
42% : Both viewed support for the Syrian Kurds as fitting neatly within the strategy of "maximum pressure" against Tehran by blocking its efforts to establish a land corridor from the Iranian border to the Mediterranean Sea and denying its client, the Assad regime, the oil and wheat necessary for its successful recovery.[6]
38% : Some European Union and NATO members imposed an arms embargo on Turkey, and even the U.S. administration succumbed to congressional pressure and decreed minor sanctions against Ankara.
33% : The Defeat of ISIS, the Fall of the Kurds, the Conflict with Iran (London: Verso, 2020), p. 26; Reuters, June 4, 2018.
28% : Some Trump advisors viewed support for the Syrian Kurds as within the strategy of "maximum pressure" against Tehran.

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