Cygnal Principal and Pollster Nick Weinstein discusses the Iraqi Kurds launching a ground offensive against the Iranian regime.
“The Kurdish people have been a great partner of the United States both in Iraq and in Syria,” Mr Weinstein told Sky News Digital Presenter Gabriella Power.
“It’s all hands on deck to topple the regime in Tehran, and the Kurds are a great partner for us.”
Who Are the Kurds?
The Kurds are an Iranian ethnic group native to West Asia, primarily inhabiting a mountainous region known as Kurdistan.
This geographic area spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syria.
They are considered one of the indigenous peoples of the Mesopotamian plains and highlands.
With a global population estimated between 30 and 45 million people, the Kurds are one of the largest ethnic groups in the world without their own state, often referred to as a stateless nation.
They are also identified as the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East, after the Arabs, Turks, and Persians.
Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, though their communities include followers of various other religions and creeds.
Kurdish languages, such as Kurmanji and Sorani, belong to the Western Iranian branch of the Iranian language family.
The exact origins of the name “Kurd” are unclear, but historical records mention toponyms similar to “Kurd” dating back to the Middle Bronze Age Sumerian and Assyrian periods.
Common Kurdish ethnic identity and language emerged around the Middle Ages.
Historically, the Kurds have faced repression in the countries where they reside, including violent actions.
Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Kurds were excluded from the carving up of the Middle East by a 1916 secret agreement between the French and British, which led to the creation of new borders that divided Kurdish lands.
The presence of oil resources in Kurdistan is cited as a reason for preventing an integrated, unified Kurdish state.
The aspiration for Kurdish independence, rooted in early Kurdish nationalism, has been a source of ethnic and political tension in West Asia since the 19th century.
Despite this, some Kurdish groups have achieved a degree of self-rule, particularly in northern Iraq, where the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government has been established.
In Syria, Kurds constitute the largest ethnic minority, while in Turkey, they are the second-largest ethnolinguistic group.
The Kurds have served as crucial allies to the United States in various conflicts, notably aiding in the Persian Gulf War, the Iraq War against Saddam Hussein, and as a partner force on the ground against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
They are described as a reliable, democratic people with a civilized society who have consistently fought extremist groups and demonstrated a strong desire for liberty.
This alliance, however, has often been followed by perceived betrayal or abandonment by the U.S. In recent developments, some Iranian Kurdish groups, including P-JAK and a newly formed democratic front, are being discussed in relation to potential operations against the Iranian regime, with reports suggesting U.S. and Israeli interest in supporting these efforts.
These groups are considered a well-organized segment of the Iranian opposition and have thousands of trained fighters.
