List of Kurdistan articles
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A woman sits in front of the tomb a Syrian Democratic Forces fighter. An Angry Congress Prepares to Rebuke Trump Over Kurds
Lawmakers expect to get a veto-proof majority backing sanctions against Turkey.
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A Syrian boy watches as Turkish military vehicles, part of a U.S. military convoy, take part in joint patrol in the Syrian village of Hashisha on the outskirts of Tell Abyad town along the border with Turkey on Oct. 4. Defying Pentagon, Trump Endorses Turkish Operation in Syria
The move caught senior defense officials by surprise.
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Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces attend a graduation ceremony. Trump Abandons the Syrian Kurds
The move to withdraw American troops from the border goes against the advice of senior defense officials.
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A man carries a bag across his shoulders in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the former Syrian capital of the Islamic State group, on May 1. In the Islamic State’s Former Stronghold, a Secret Yearning for Assad
Though Raqqa was captured by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, many residents are mistrustful and believe only Bashar al-Assad can bring stability.
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Workers install electric wires at the Khazir refugee camp west of Erbil on Nov. 21, 2016. How to Keep the Lights on in Kurdistan
Caught between the United States and Iran, Iraq is facing deep energy insecurity. In Kurdistan, the solution may be solar power.
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Kolbars carrying smuggled goods return from Iraq down the Kuh-e Takht mountain in Iran on Dec. 12, 2018. (Sergio Colombo and Andrea Prada Bianchi for Foreign Policy) For Kurdish Smugglers, Iran Sanctions Are Starting to Bite
The kolbars brave subfreezing temperatures and border guards’ bullets to carry heavy loads over the mountains in an unemployment-plagued region that Iran’s government has all but forgotten.
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Members of the mostly Kurdish People’s Protection Units, part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, gather in the Syrian town of Shadadi on Sept. 11, 2018. (Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images) Kurdish Commander Laments American Betrayal, Urges U.S. to ‘Be Loyal’
Trump’s plan to withdraw troops from Syria leaves U.S. ally at the mercy of old enemies.
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Prime Minister-elect Adel Abdul Mahdi addresses the Iraqi parliament during a vote on the new government in Baghdad on Oct. 24, 2018. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) Will Iraq’s Old Divisions Undermine Its New Prime Minister?
In his first hundred days on the job, Adel Abdul Mahdi has hit entrenched political roadblocks to choosing cabinet ministers and changing a system of political patronage.
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Ilham Ahmed, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, delivers a speech in Paris on Dec. 21, 2018. (Stephane De Sakuyin/AFP/Getty Images) Syrian Kurdish Leader Asks U.S. to Save Her People From ‘Catastrophe’
As Assad consolidates power, Kurds want autonomy in northeastern Syria.
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Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters gather behind a sandbagged barricade northwest of Manbij in northern Syria on Jan. 15. (Nazeer al-Khatib/ AFP/Getty Images) Trump Is Making the Mess in Syria Even Messier
He inherited the conflict. It’s up to him to resolve it responsibly.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during the funeral ceremony for Turkish soldier Musa Ozalkan on Jan. 23, 2018 at Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque in Ankara. Don’t Blame Everything on Erdogan
The Turkish government doesn’t have a soft spot for the Islamic State, and Ankara stands to lose more than anyone if the terrorist group makes a comeback.
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Members of a Turkey-backed Syrian militia near the Northern Syrian city of Manbij, on Dec. 30. (Anas Alkharboutli/Picture Alliance/ Getty Images) The United States Can’t Rely on Turkey to Defeat ISIS
Erdogan wants to confront the Kurds, not the Islamic State. Outsourcing the battle to Ankara will endanger America.
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Turkish-backed Syrian fighters train in a camp in the Aleppo countryside, northern Syria, on Dec. 16. (Aref Tammawi/AFP/Getty Images) 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2019
As U.S. leadership fades, authoritarian leaders are competing to see how much they can get away with.
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Herto Hamrash Minut, 74, sits outside his house on Sinjar Mountain, where he lives with his two wives and 12 children. Four years ago, he was kidnapped and tortured by the Islamic State for eight months. (Sam Mednick for Foreign Policy) ISIS May Be Gone, But Iraq’s Yazidis Are Still Suffering
The defeat of the Islamic State has created a power vacuum in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, leaving the Yazidi minority at the mercy of competing militias.
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U.S. forces, accompanied by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), drive armored vehicles near the northern Syrian village of Darbasiyah on April 28, 2017. (Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images) U.S.-Turkish Ties May Be Cut for Good in Syria
The two countries are trying to work together in Manbij, and it isn’t going well.
