Turkey's Erdogan vows to press offensive on U.S.-backed Kurds in Syria - Connor Norton

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a statement this week reaffirming his resolve to subjugate Kurdish forces operating in both Turkey and Syria, with help from Russia (an ally of Syria) and in direct opposition to NATO and the United States, which has provided aid to the Syrian Kurdish as allies against ISIS and other terrorist groups. The Kurds, an ethnic minority in the Middle East, have long been attempting to carve out their own country, Kurdistan, much to the opposition of president Erdogan and other leaders, who have outright rejected votes for independence and oppressed the Kurdish minority in their own countries. However, though the US has not actively helped in their bid for land, it has provided weapons and supplies when the Kurds in Syria rose up as one of ISIS's most capable enemies on the front lines; this was met with negative feedback by Erdogan, who continues to see the group as a threat. Now, it seems, the tension has grown to the point that the president of Turkey felt the need to restate his position and allied power, potentially causing more conflict in the already-embattled Middle East.

This ties to the constant push by Americans, from the colonies to Custer, to subjugate or eliminate the Native American minority (post-disease) present on the continent. International tensions over support for the state-seeking minority was even a major cause for an American war, the War of 1812, when the US accused Britain of providing Native Americans with weapons (similar to the US and the Kurds now). Eventually, the Native American population in America was successfully depleted and removed from open territory by the US military, though not until after a handful of significant battles, the rise and fall of numerous powerful Native leaders, and countless atrocities on both a large and small scale occurred; here's to hoping the Kurds aren't resigned to a similar fate.