It is a terrible thing to be a people without a state or province to call its own. Just ask the Kurds, who now find themselves under the hell of
For he has unleashed a campaign of genocidal fury against people of his ever-expanding realm. And no one can say the world hasn't been given fair warning of his genocidal intentions. At latest report, his troops and some Syrian puppets under his control were driving farther and farther east, planning to cross the Euphrates, occupying one Kurdish town and village after another. And not just old borders, but the old Kurdish names of cities are to be wiped off the map to oblige the all-conquering aggressor.
All around the Turkish border with what should be an independent
And there's no telling where he and his minions might strike next. "One night," he warns, "we could suddenly enter Sinjar," or go as far as Qamishli -- even though that's currently Syrian territory. In the
But you can't keep good people like the Kurds down indefinitely. By now they've been reduced to fighting a guerrilla war against the Turks, waging hit-and-run attacks against the Turkish legions. The organization dedicated to reporting the human toll of all this warfare -- the
What the Turkish ruler calls peace, however, bears more than a little resemblance to utter devastation. Both residents of the Kurdish city and the
A commander of the Turkish-supported Syrian forces blames the looting on thieves and says a special unit to protect property has been formed to prevent further robberies. But who's to prevent this special police force from taking its own share of the loot? Thieves come in so many guises and disguises, including those donned by oh-so-officials.
And so it goes when law and order collapse. And an old and loyal ally is betrayed once again. God have mercy on the Kurds, for it is clear the Turks will show none.
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Paul Greenberg is the Pulitzer-winning editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.