The Kurds: Seeking Their Yorktown
In September I had the opportunity to interview Robert Ford and Charles Lister, both senior fellows at the Middle East Institute (MEI), on issues pertaining to Kurdish self-determination. This was before the Iraqi Army move on Kirkuk and the subsequent chaos that has engulfed the Kurdish region. The interviews were done via e-mail, as I […]Jonathan Dworkin writes for Small Wars Journal:
In September I had the opportunity to interview Robert Ford and Charles Lister, both senior fellows at the Middle East Institute (MEI), on issues pertaining to Kurdish self-determination. This was before the Iraqi Army move on Kirkuk and the subsequent chaos that has engulfed the Kurdish region. The interviews were done via e-mail, as I am based in Hawaii.
I originally intended to build this conversation into a larger piece on the topic of Kurdish independence. However given the rapid changes on the ground, Small Wars Journal is publishing the interviews as a stand-alone discussion about America’s broader priorities in Syria and Iraq.
These men are of interest precisely because neither’s work is principally concerned with the Kurds. Robert Ford is the former United States Ambassador to Syria, and he’s most well-known for his efforts to organize the early Syrian opposition to Bashar Assad. Charles Lister is a scholar at the MEI, and he has an extensive knowledge of Syrian opposition politics.
