The Key to Defeating ISIS: The Kurds

As the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate in the war against the Islamic State, one wonders how long our military can maintain its current air campaign, which has so far rendered ineffective in pushing back the jihadist’s advancements. It seems that the Obama administration is doing all it can to prolong and drag out the battle for Syria and Iraq. But this should not be the case.

When the Obama administration began looking for “moderate” Islamic rebels to back in the war, they overlooked a key, strong, pro-western ally in the region that could be a powerful ground force able of pushing back the ISIS blitzkrieg, the Kurds. The Kurds are the worlds largest ethnic group without a state to call their own, and reside in the large territory encompassing eastern and southern Turkey, northern Iraq and northeastern Syria.

The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) military force, called the peshmerga, are well trained and brutal warriors. The Kurds do not consider themselves to be Arab, but a majority of the population is Islamic, with Christian and Yezidi minorities. Since the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraqi Kurdistan has become increasingly autonomous allowing it to flourish economically, and be unaffected by the insurgency that plagues the rest of Iraq, with neighborhoods that resemble those in southern California.

The Kurds are pro-western, pro-democracy, moderate Islamic people who have the same security interests at heart as we do here in America. So why has Obama and his administration continued to ignore them, and opt for training and arming a flakey, mediocre at best Syrian rebel force? The administration to their credit has begun to give the Kurds some small arms and ammunition, but much more substantial support is needed if the Islamic State is to be defeated.

If Iraq and Syria continue to spiral further into civil war, the KGR may declare independence from Iraq, isolating themselves and shutting out the violence that surrounds them, leading to a chain reaction that will for certain tear the country apart. On the contrary, if the Kurds are fully supported by the U.S. and are able to destroy the Islamic State, bringing stability to the region, an independent Kurdistan would bring further stability to the region as well as a new Middle East ally to the United States.

So the question remains….what is President Obama waiting for? The Kurds are the key to defeating ISIS, and possibly finally having peace in the region.