5 Things to Know About Fighting ISIS | Explorer

the Kurds are often described as largest
the world’s largest ethnic group that
does not have a country of its own most
people put the population of Kurds at
about 30 million and they’re spread
through at least four countries Syria
Turkey Iran and Iraq there’s one thing
that the Kurds will often tell you when
you travel the front lines in near Isis
and it’s that the Peshmerga are there
fighting against Isis not just for
themselves but for the world here they
had this nation that was being that was
developing and then suddenly Isis comes
and tries to destroy their country and
they’re left to defend it largely on
their own the Kurds in Iraq have always
wanted independence and like the clamor
for this just seems to grow and the
Kurds seem now to be in a position where
after they have done so much work
fighting Isis who can say that they
should not have their own independence
how can you deny that reward for people
who have fought and died against what is
an enemy of us all you don’t travel
through the Middle East and find a lot
of love for Israel but the Kurds are one
of the few exceptions to this and it’s
because they see in Israel and the
United States a partnership that has
worked in some ways and particularly
with Israel they see a small country
that’s surrounded by enemies that has
managed to hold its own and the Kurds
feel very much beset by enemies all
around them
Isis is both extremely destructive and
dangerous for the Kurds but it’s also
unified them in a way that they weren’t
previously there’s there’s this enemy of
the doorstep and nothing galvanizes a
people like a common enemy and one of
the things that they’ve also been able
to do to sort of solidify their own
position in the Middle East because
right now they’re the only ones who are
able to keep Isis at bay