“New York Times”: Allied or terrorists, who are Syria's Kurdish fighters?

Kurdish fighters who have fought against the Islamic state of jihadis are considered a reliable partner by the US. But, Turkey and some allies of NATO and the United States, for those Kurds are terrorists.

The Kurdish group, known as the People's Protection Unit or Y.P.G., is facing a escalating battle with Turkish forces in northwest Syria, complicating American politics.

The group has deep ties to the Kurdistan Labour Party, known as the K.K.K. Turkey and the US view this group as a terrorist organisation that has carried out separatist attacks within the Turkish state.

As long as the Y.P.G. rejects the K.K. group, pictures of the leader of the P.K., Abdullah Ocalan, looked at by the Turks the way the Americans saw Osama bin Laden, were shown in their areas.

One thing is clear: The United States, which is strongly based on Kurdish fighters to repel the Islamic state from northeastern Syria, has consistently underestimated the complexity of the alliance with the Kurds -- a policy that some analysts consider ignorance to be deliberate.

The U.S. “certainly chose to look at the other way, from what was considered a necessity for building an alliance to quickly capture the territory from Daesh,” says Noah Bonsey, a Syrian analyst.

“The US has reason to support the Y.P.G.,” he said.

But US co-operation with Y.P.G., including weapons supply, has led the US to throw it into a clash with Turkey.

Kurdish analyst Xelil said Americans need Kurds to achieve targets in Syria, such as removing Iranian influence./Periscopi/