Is the Greater Kurdistan Project Dead? Kerry and Lavrov Declare “Kurds must remain a part of the Syrian state”

by Scott Creighton

Holy shit.

Very quietly Sec. of State John Kerry went over to Geneva and cut a deal with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on the state of the state of Syria. according to reports a number of issues were agreed upon but none so dramatic as the issue of Kurdish independence or what they call “Western Kurdistan”

“Both diplomats agreed that the Syrian Kurds should remain in Syria.

“We are for a united Syria. We do not support an independent Kurd initiative,” Kerry said, pointing out that the American forces have been engaging in cooperation with “a component” of the Kurdish forces on a “very limited basis.”

On his part, Lavrov said, “Kurds must remain a part of the Syrian state, part of resolving the problem, and not a factor that will be used to split Syria apart.”

The contacts with the Kurdish minority in Syria were made in a “close cooperation” with Turkey, Kerry said. Turkey considers the Kurdish YPG militia, which is part of the US-backed SDF rebels, one of the targets of its ongoing incursion in Syria.

“We understand the sensitivities of our friends in Turkey with respect to this,” Kerry added.” RT

“(O)ur friends in Turkey”? We just tried to overthrow Erdogan in a violent coup and now Kerry describes him as one of “our” friends?

How quickly the worm turns.

As good as this news is for the Syrians, the Turks, the Iranians and even the Kurds who don’t wish to live under the rule of the dictator Barzani, the truth is, this is just the State Department’s position. The MIC-run Pentagon probably still feels somewhat differently:

“We have now have momentum in this fight and clear results on the ground… We must ensure that our partners on the ground (freedom fighter Kurds) have what they need to win the fight and then hold, rebuild, and govern their territory (“Rojava”),” Sec. of Defense Ash Carter, July 20th 2016

“Moreover, the most recent communique from the US Lt. General Townshend in Northern Syria laid out plans to increase the area of what the US considers “Kurdistan.” Fort Russ News, Aug 22nd, 2016

Things are moving fast in Syria right now. After the failed coup, a number of events and meetings took place which have shaped the situation such that we now have the US apparently backing Turkey in their efforts to push back against the encroaching Greater Kurdistan project in Syria as Joe Biden recently instructed the Kurds to move back across the river or else the US would stop supporting them.

And now we have this.

I’m not going to tell you I believe this is the end of the last great nation building project, what Condi Rice once famously called the New Middle East. Greater Kurdistan may already be a foregone conclusion in spite of this apparent reprieve.

Penny from Penny for Your Thoughts is reporting the Turks had the approval from the Russians and the Iranians to go into Syria and forcibly drive the Kurds out of that border town west of the river. Could be that Kerry and the Obama administration have seen the writing on the wall and figure they don’t currently want an all out war with Syria, Turkey, Iran and Russia to be ObamaGod’s final legacy.

Could be that meeting with Barzani that Erdogan had last week was about him laying out the endgame for Greater Kurdistan and suggesting Barzani be happy with the Iraqi Kurdistan he already has as opposed to risking losing it all.

Some might argue that this development might mean the US, Russia and Turkey have decided to remove Assad and regime change the entire country rather than settle for the half east of the river and that might be. Hard too say at this point. Lavrov and Kerry did agree on launching direct dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition in the country and from what I know, Lavrov has always stated a forced regime change was “off the table”

So I guess we will have to wait and see but I don’t expect Russian planes to start bombing Syrian forces anytime soon. More likely, they might just start bombing the raging Kurds in north eastern Syria who are hell bent on ethnic cleansing of what they call Rojava.

Will the Israelis go along with this? They’ve been pushing for a Greater Kurdistan from the beginning and may in fact be the driving force behind it. The Saudis don’t seem to mind either. What will they do in light of this development?

There are a lot of moving parts in this but however you look at it, this is a major turning point in the Greater Kurdistan project. Either it will falter and be put on the back burner for a couple more years or the maniacs in the Pentagon and the CIA will do something horrific in order to jump start the program again.

It will be worth watching but for now, it looks like it’s officially dead. It may become the Walking Dead in a few months, but right now, it’s kaput. Someone shoot it in the head please.