Backing the Kurds will stabilse Iraq
Since US airstrikes began on Islamic State targets in Iraq's Kurdistan region, a number of Western countries have finally decided to empower and arm Iraq's Kurds in the ever-expanding battle against the radical group. The West has finally made the right decision, as the Islamic State group can only be confronted and defeated with the […]Ranj Alaadin writes for Al Jazeera:
Since US airstrikes began on Islamic State targets in Iraq's Kurdistan region, a number of Western countries have finally decided to empower and arm Iraq's Kurds in the ever-expanding battle against the radical group. The West has finally made the right decision, as the Islamic State group can only be confronted and defeated with the help of a reliable regional ally such as the Kurds.
Western support for the Kurds should be part of a long-term strategy aimed at stabilising Iraq as a whole. In other words, help the Kurds help Iraq. Iraq's problems are the Kurds' problems. Iraq's Kurds and Arabs can work together. The retaking of the Mosul dam through a joint Kurdish-Arab force - a dam that the Islamic State could have used to flood cities like Baghdad - proves that not only is intervention in Iraq working but also that these are reliable and organised forces that can fight the Islamic State and do the job effectively.
