US wants a unified Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – On Monday, Feb. 1, the United Nations announced the formal start of the Geneva III peace talks, meant to bring about a peaceful solution to the Syrian civil war.

In an interview with K24, Stephen Mansfield, author of The Miracle of the Kurds, stated, “It is a horrible situation that the YPG [sic] and other Kurdish organizations have been excluded; this should not happen.”

Participation of Kurdish parties, envoys, or even sending a small delegation to the Syrian peace talks would be helpful in providing an important voice at the negotiation table.

According to Mansfield, even if Kurds are not offered a seat at the table—largely due to Turkish opposition for the United States—Turkey’s political agenda and motives are now clearly exposed. That is, they oppose bringing about a peaceful solution to the region without a Kurdish voice.

Speaking about the Turkish role in regional issues, Mansfield says that the US considers Turkey to be very important, partially because of the US military base in the southeast part of the country.

“The US does not check Turkey as it should, [nor does it] deal with them as a nation that causes problems in that part of the world,” he explains.

The US government still wants a unified Iraq but the US' official position is not supportive of an independent Kurdistan, Mansfield says.

The well-known pro-Kurdish author also mentions that one of the positive outcomes in recent years, amid the regional turmoil, is that Americans have begun to understand and become aware of the Kurdish issue. “Kurds are the noble fighters against [Islamic State] and their time has come as a people [for independence].”  

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran

Editing by Benjamin Kweskin and Karzan Sulaivany