I previously posted that the US was backing Kurdish forces fighting in Syria with airstrikes. The Kurds have recently been having great success in advancing on IS territory and dealing Daesh a decisive defeat when they took Kobani.

The Kurdish population Syria is mostly located in the North of the Country along the board with Turkey. They are separated into small groups, but as the YPG, Peoples' Protection Units, drive Daesh back, they unify them into one mass. Turkey is alarmed and worried that they will attempt to declare the northern chunk of Syria an independent Kurdish nation.

Now as a westerner, that doesnt seem so bad. The Middle East is a  shitshow and the Kurds are the only one stomping Daesh ass right now. The Iraqi Army runs away from any fight they get involved in, but the Kurds are hitting Daesh hard. So why not let them have a country?

The problem for us is that we are friends with Turkey, and Turkey sees the Kurds as a terrorist group. They have been engaged in a low level conflict with the PPK, Kurdish Workers Party, since 1984. But Kurds in general have wanted independence since the fall of the Ottoman empire. After all, the rest of the Middle East was split up into independent nations. Turkey in general is not a very hospitable place to be non-Turk. Just after the SCOTUS banned gay marriage bans in the US, there was a gay pride mach in Turkey. It was broken up with fire hoses and CS gas. Turkey is a autocratic nation where the Turks run it and to hell with anyone else. But they are also the 2nd largest armed force in NATO. Which is why we turn a blind eye to Turkish oppression. We want their support so bad we are willing to let the Turks push into Syria and destroy the YPG instead if Daesh. Which is exactly what they are planning to do in the immediate future.  

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." - Sun Tzu