US Meets With Syrian Kurds Linked To Terror Group

[Purveyor]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department says it has held direct talks with a Syrian Kurdish political party that is linked to a guerrilla group that the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Thursday the meeting with the Kurdish Democratic Union Party happened last weekend, outside the region.

The discussion focused on threats posed by Islamic State militants, and marked the first direct talks between the two sides.

The Kurdish group is known as the PYD and is seen as a Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Both aspire to create an independent nation for ethnic Kurds out of parts of Syria, Iraq, and Turkey.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNITED_STATES_KURDS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-10-16-14-19-27

[get the red out]

1. Here we go again

Our nation isn't all that skilled at choosing friends.

[aquart]

2. Nonetheless, Kurds are a fine choice.

[get the red out]

3. Nothing against Kurds at all

The words to the effect of 'associated with a terrorist group' put me of a bit.

[Xithras]

5. One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter.

That old saying is probably truer with the PKK than with just about any other terrorist group on Earth. Turkey has tried to genocide and ethnically cleanse the Kurds, and the Kurds fought back. Because Turkey labelled them a terrorist organization, the U.S. followed suit as Turkey is a NATO ally and we have a mutual defense treaty with them.

[get the red out]

6. True

Depends on perspective.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. We need a scorecard to keep up with Friends/Enemies/Friendly Enemies/Enemy Friends/and WTF?

Or, maybe we could put them on a Bogeyman Schedule: This Week, Next Week, Overtime, Part-time.

[MisterP]

7. it'd take a lot of cardstock to make a Möbius-shaped scorecard, I'd think