Demokrat Başkanların Kürt Politikaları

Year 2021, , 565 - 602, 06.05.2022

İsmail Sarı , Tuğba Altun

https://doi.org/10.47932/ortetut.1026475

Abstract

ABD’nin Kürtlere yönelik politikaları farklı dönemlerde çeşitli dinamikler tarafından şekillenmiştir. Yönetimlere göre değişen politikalarda cumhuriyetçiler ve demokratlar arasında da belirli farklılıklar göze çarpmaktadır. Bu çalışmada ABD’nin demokrat başkanlarının Kürtlere yönelik politikalarına odaklanılacaktır. Birinci Dünya Savaşı’nın ardından “insan hakları”, “kendi kendini yönetme hakkı” gibi idealist söylemler üzerinden Kürtlere yaklaşan ABD başkanları, özellikle İkinci Dünya Savaşı’nın ardından Soğuk Savaş dönemi şartlarına uygun olarak pragmatist politikalara yönelmiştir. Bu bağlamda da genel olarak Soğuk Savaş döneminde Kürtlerin yaşadığı ülkelerin iç işlerine müdahale edilmek istenmemiş, onları destekleyici bir politika izlenmemiştir.

Dönemsel olarak ABD’nin bölgesel politikalarında, İran ve Irak gibi ülkeler ile ilişkilerine bağlı olarak Kürtlere yönelik politikalarda da değişiklikler gerçekleşmiştir. Özellikle Arap Baharı’nın ülkeler üzerinde etkisi ve bölgede terör örgütlerinin ortaya çıkması önemli faktörler olmuştur. Öncelikle Obama ile birlikte ABD’nin Ortadoğu’da askeri varlığını azaltma politikası gündeme gelmiştir. Sonrasında ise terör örgütlerine karşı bölgede ABD güçleri yerine, Kürtler gibi vekil kuvvetlerin kullanılması ön plana çıkmıştır. Son zamanlarda ise ABD’nin Kürtlere yönelik politikasının çeşitli alanlarda geliştiği söylenebilir. ABD, özellikle Suriye’de Kürt grupları vekil güç olarak kullanmaktadır. Maddi, askeri ve eğitim gibi destekler de sağlamaktadır. IKBY ile de iyi ilişkilere sahip olan ABD, insan hakları ve Kürtlerin uğradığı haksızlıklar bağlamında da Kürtleri desteklediğini belirtmektedir. Kürtler, özellikle Biden’ın ABD başkanı seçilmesiyle haklarının artabileceğini, bağımsızlık bağlamında da gelişmeler yaşanabileceğini ummuştur. Bu bağlamda çalışmamızda yukarıda genel ve soyut olarak aktardığımız çerçevede demokrat başkanların Kürt politikaları analiz edilecektir.

Keywords

ABD, Demokratlar, Cumhuriyetçiler, Kürtler, KDP, PYD

.....

Abstract

....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Keywords

...., ....., ......

Democratic Presidents' Policies Towards the Kurds

Abstract

A variety of dynamics shapes the policies of the USA towards the Kurds in different periods. In the policies that differ from administration to administration, there are some differences between republicans and democrats. The focus point of this study is the policies of democrat presidents in the US towards Kurds. After the First World War, the US presidents shaped their policies towards Kurds regarding human rights, self-determination, etc. Especially after the Second World War, their policies were shaped and changed according to the Cold War environment. In this respect, they made decisions according to certain norms, but sometimes, they took pragmatic decisions. Generally, the US did not want to intervene in the politics of countries with a Kurdish population and did not follow any policy supporting Kurdish groups.

Periodically in the USA’s regional policies, there were some policy changes towards Kurds based on the relationships between Iran and Iraq. Especially the emergence of regional terrorist organizations and the effects of Arab Spring on countries are the crucial aspects. At first, in the Obama period, the US wanted to reduce the presence of military existence of the US in the Middle East. After that, the US wanted to use Proxy forces such as Kurds against the terrorist groups. Recently, the USA’s policies toward Kurds developed in various fields. The US primarily uses the Kurdish group in Syria as Proxy forces. The US administration provides support in the area of financial, military and training, etc. The US has a good relationship with IKRG, and they support Kurds in terms of human rights and the injustice Kurds face. Kurds hoped that their rights could develop, and there could be some developments about the independence, especially after Biden became the president. In this regard, democrat presidents’ Kurdish policy will be examined in terms of the general, and discrete framework explained above in this study.

Keywords

USA, Democrats, Republicans, Kurds, KDP, PYD

References

• • “ABD’den Suriye’ye ikinci hava üssü”, Anadolu Ajansı, 7 Mart 2016, https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/abdden-suriyeye-ikinci-hava-ussu/532919.
• • “Conflicting Partisan Priorities for U.S. Foreign Policy”, Pew Research Center, 29 Kasım 2018, https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/11/29/conflicting-partisan-priorities-for-u-s-foreign-policy/.
• • “Daily Press Briefing by the Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 06/16/15”, The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 16 June 2015, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/06/17/daily-press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-061615.
• • “Jake Sullivan on Turkey, the Kurds, and the Islamic State”, United States Institution of Peace, 20 Nisan 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ZO5ypzHnU.
• • “Kerry to urge Kurds to hold Iraq together”, Middle East Eye, 12 February 2015, https://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/news/kerry-urge-kurds-hold-iraq-together-1661548701.
• • “Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on Iraq’s Compliance With United Nations Security Council Resolutions”, 23 October 1995, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-1995-book2/pdf/PPP-1995-book2-doc-pg1672.pdf
• • “Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on Iraq’s Compliance With United Nations Security Council Resolution”, 7 January 1997, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-1997-book1/pdf/PPP-1997-book1-doc-pg12.pdf .
• • “Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on Iraq’s Compliance With United Nations Security Council Resolution”, 7 March 1997, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-1997-book1/pdf/PPP-1997-book1-doc-pg262-2.pdf.
• • “Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on Iraq’s Compliance With United Nations Security Council Resolution”, 8 May 1997, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-1997-book1/pdf/PPP-1997-book1-doc-pg578.pdf.
• • “Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on Iraq’s Compliance With United Nations Security Council Resolution”, 9 July 1997, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-1997-book2/pdf/PPP-1997-book2-doc-pg934-2.pdf.
• • “Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on Iraq’s Compliance With United Nations Security Council Resolution”, 5 November 1998, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-1998-book2/pdf/PPP-1998-book2-doc-pg1986-2.pdf.
• • “Lloyd Austin: IŞİD’e karşı Kürt grupların desteklenmesinde rol oynayan, ABD’nin savunma bakanı olacağı öne sürülen emekli general”, BBC, 8 Aralık 2020, https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-dunya-55225867.
• • “Mazlum Kobani: Yeni ABD yönetimiyle SDG arasında ortak bir program hazırlıyoruz”, BBC, 31 Ocak 2021, https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-dunya-55881579.
• • “Message to the Congress Reporting on the National Emergency With Respect to Iraq”, 3 March 1993, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-1994-book1/pdf/PPP-1994-book1-doc-pg368-4.pdf.
• • “President Obama Delivers a Statement”, The White House President Barack Obama, 14 August 2014, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/08/14/statement-president.
• • “President Obama Gives an Update on the Situation in Iraq”, The White House President Barack Obama, 09 August 2014, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/08/09/statement-president-iraq.
• • “President Obama Speaks on the Situation in Iraq”, The White House President Barack Obama, 19 June 2014, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/photos-and-video/video/2014/06/19/president-obama-speaks-situation-iraq#transcript.
• • “Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest and Special Presidential Envoy fort he Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, Brett McGurk”, The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 10 June 2016, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/10/press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-and-special-presidential.
• • “Press Briefing by Press Secretary, Ben Rhodes, Tom Donohue and Andrew Liveris”, The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 25 April 2016, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/25/press-briefing-press-secretary-ben-rhodes-tom-donohue-and-andrew-liveris.
• • “Press Call on the Counter-ISIL Campaign”, The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 9 October 2015, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/10/09/press-call-counter-isil-campaign.
• • “Readout of Vice President Biden’s Call with Iraqi Kurdistan Regional President Masoud Barzani”, The White House: Office of the Vice President, 17 November 2014, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/17/readout-vice-president-bidens-call-iraqi-kurdistan-regional-president.
• • “Remarks by the President in a Press Conference”, The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 05 November 2014, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/05/remarks-president-press-conference.
• • “Syrian Kurdish parties sign Dohuk agreement to fight ISIS”, Daily Sabah, 24 October 2014.
• • “USA: Bill Clinton Blames Main Kurdish Factions For Conflict in Iraq”, AP Archive, 21 Temmuz 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXuLF3s8dRU.
• • “Vice President Joe Biden”, The White House President Barack Obama, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/author/vice-president-joe-bidenhttps://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/author/vice-president-joe-biden.
• • Ahmed, Muhammed M. A. ve Gunter, Michael M. The Kurdish Spring: Geopolitical Changes and the Kurds. Mazda Pub, 2013
• • Barrow, Bill and Jaffe, Alexandra “Biden: Syria withdrawal proves Trump is a ‘complete failure.’” AP News, 17 October 2019, https://apnews.com/article/761d315d0cf543f1b5c5fb377d8340a1.
• • Blinken, Antony J. “To Defeat ISIS, Arm the Syrian Kurds.” The New York Times, 31 January 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/opinion/to-defeat-isis-arm-the-syrian-kurds.html.
• • Brands, Hal. “Before the Tilt: The Carter Administration Engages Saddam Hussein.” Diplomacy & Statecraft 26, no. 1 (2015): 102-123.
• • Broich, John. “Why there is no Kurdish nation.” The Conversation, 6 Kasım 2019, https://theconversation.com/why-there-is-no-kurdish-nation-126243.
• • Charountaki, Marianna. The Kurds and US Foreign Policy: International Relations in the Middle East since 1945. Routledge, 2014
• • Clive, Nigel. “The Kurdish Struggle 1920-94.” International Affairs 72, no. 4 (Ekim 1996): 853-854.
• • Dan Balz ve Scott Clement, “Poll: Sharp partisan differences now exist on foreign policy, views of American exceptionalism”, The Washington Post, 17 Eylül 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-foreign-policy-trump-democrats/2020/09/16/8e2d903e-f836-11ea-be57-d00bb9bc632d_story.html.
• • Dumbrell, John. “Bush’s war: The Iraq conflict and American democracy.” Political Science, 2005.
• • Dumbrell, John. Clinton’s Foreign Policy: Between the Bushes 1992-2000. Routledge, 2009
• • Entessar, Nader. Kurdish Politics in the Middle East. Lexington Books, 2009
• • Everest, Larry. Oil, Power & Empire: Iraq and the U.S. Global Agenda. Common Courage Press, 2004
• • Franklin, Janet A.United States Foreign Policies on Iran and Iraq, And the negative impact on the Kurdish Nationalist Movement: From the Nixon Era Through The Reagan Years. Wright State University, 2019
• • Freedman, Robert O. “U.S. Policy Toward the Middle East in Clinton’s Second Term.” Middle East Review of International Affairs 3, no. 1 (March 1999).
• • Ghassemlou, Abdülrahman. Kurdistan and Kurds. Publication House of the Czechoslovak Academy of Science, 1965
• • Gibson, Bryan R. Sold Out? US Foreign Policy, Iraq, the Kurds, and the Cold War. Palgrave, 2015
• • Gunter, Michael M. “Arab-Kurdish Relations and the Future of Iraq.” Third World Quarterly 32, no. 9 (2011): 1623-1635.
• • Gunter, Michael M. “Erdoğan and the Decline of Turkey.” Middle East Policy 23, no. 4 (2016).
• • Gunter, Michael M. “Foreign Policy towards the Kurds.” 13, no. 2 (2011).
• • Gunter, Michael M. “Iraq, Syria, ISIS and the Kurds: Geostrategic Concerns fort he U.S. and Turkey.” Middle East Policy 22, no. 11 (2015).
• • Gunter, Michael M. “The Kurdish Problem in Turkey.” Middle East Journal 42, no. 3 (1988): 389-406.
• • Gunter, Michael M. “The Kurdish Question in Perspective.” World Affairs 166, no. 4 (2004): 197-205.
• • Gunter, Michael M. Out of Nowhere: The Kurds of Syria in Peace and War. Hurst, 2014
• • Gunter, Michael M. The Kurds Ascending: The Evolving Solution to the Kurdish Problem in Iraq and Turkey, (Palgrave, 2008).
• • Gunter, Michael M., “The Kurdish Spring.” Third World Quarterly 34, no. 3 (2013).
• • Hakan Özoğlu, “Lessons From the Idea, and Rejection, of Kurdistan”, The New York Times, 5 Temmuz 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/03/where-do-borders-need-to-be-redrawn/lessons-from-the-idea-and-rejection-of-kurdistan.
• • Hama, Hawre Hasan. “US Foreign Policy Towards The Iraqi Kurds.” KCCRC, Ocak 2021, https://www.kurdistanc.com/en/details.aspx?jimare=1107.
• • Houston, Christopher. Kurdistan: Crafting of national selves. Indiana University Press, 2008
• • “President Wilson’s Fourteen Points”, World War I Document Archive, https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/President_Wilson%27s_Fourteen_Points.
• • Icduygu, Ahmet; Romano, David & Sirkeci, İbrahim. “The ethnic question in an environment of insecurity: the Kurds in Turkey.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 22, no. 6 (2010).
• • Jacobson, Frances M. Jimmy Carter’s Foreign Policy: The Battle for Power and Principle. Old Dominion University, 2008
• • Jakes, Lara; Crowley, Michael and. Sange, David E. “Biden Chooses Antony Blinken, Defender of Global Alliances, as Secretary of State.” The New York Times, 22 November 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/22/us/politics/biden-antony-blinken-secretary-of-state.html.
• • Jasim, Dastan. “Biden’s Challange: Kurdish Autonomy and Turkish Expansionism.” GIGA Focus, January 2021.
• • Jwaideh, Wadie. The Kurdish National Movement: Its Origins and Development. Syracuse University Press, 2006
• • Kaczynski, Andrew. “How Joe Biden defended his Iraq vote.” CNN Politics, 17 January 2020, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/17/politics/biden-iraq-kfile/index.html.
• • Karami, H. & Romano, David. “Sub-State Actors and Trump’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East: The Case of Kurdish Forces in Iraq and Syria.” Trump and the Middle East. Deakin University Burwood, 2018
• • Kibaroğlu, Mustafa. “Turkey: Missing Bill Clinton.” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, (March/April 2004).
• • Kirişçi, Kemal. Türkiye ve Ortadoğu’da Bölgesel İşbirliği. İstanbul: 1998
• • Kissinger, Henry. Diplomacy. Simon &Schuster, 1995
• • Kissinger, Henry. Years of Renewal. Simon & Schuster, 1999
• • Krieg, Andreas. “Externalizing the burden of war: the Obama Doctrine and US foreign policy in the Middle East.” International Affairs 92, no. 1 (2016): 97-113.
• • Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on Iraq’s Compliance With United Nations Security Council Resolution”, 19 May 1999, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-1999-book1/pdf/PPP-1999-book1-doc-pg814.pdf.
• • Little, Douglas. “The United States and the Kurds: A Cold War Story.” Journal of Cold War Studies 12, no. 4, The MIT Press, 2010: 63-98.
• • Matthews, Matt. “U.S. goofs on Iraq again Clinton ignores the real problem: Kurdish unrest.” The Baltimore Sun, 8 September 1996, https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-09-08-1996252042-story.html.
• • Mearsheimer, John J. ve Walt, Stephen M. “The Case for Offshore Balancing.” Foreign Affairs, 2016, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2016-06-13/case-offshore-balancing.
• • Meho, Lokman I. The Kurdish Question in U.S. Foreign Policy: A Documentary Sourcebook. Praeger, 2004
• • Michael Nelson, Michael. “Barack Obama: Foreign Affairs”, Miller Center, https://millercenter.org/president/obama/foreign-affairs.
• • Mitchell B. Reiss, “The Republican Party and US Foreign Policy: What Next?”, RUSI, 17 Mart 2021, https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/republican-party-and-us-foreign-policy-what-next.
• • Mustafah, Ruwayda. “Biden presidency brings hope for Kurds.” Politics, 23 November 2020, https://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2020/11/23/biden-presidency-brings-hope-for-the-kurds/.
• • Natali, Denise. The Kurds and the State: Evolving National Identity in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. Syracuse University Press, 2005
• • Olson, Robert W. Turkey’s Relations With Iran, Syria, Israel, and Russia, 1991-2000: The Kurdish and Islamist Questions. Mazda Pub, 2001
• • Özçelik, Ali Onur. “An Analysis of The Kurdistan Worker Party (PKK) with International and Domestic Dimension and Its Reflection Over Turkish-American Relations.” Cesran International, (2014).
• • Perry, Tom and Mohammed, Arshad. “U.S. envoy visits Kurdish-held northern Syria.” Reuters, 1 February 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-visit-idUSKCN0VA2TR.
• • Phillips, David L. The Kurdish Spring: A New Map of the Middle East. Routledge, 2017
• • Power, Samantha. A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. Harper Collins Publication, 2003
• • Prados, Alfred B. “The Kurds in Iraq: Status, Protection, and Prospects.” CRS Reports for Congress, (12 May 1994).
• • Romano, David. “Iraqi Kurdistan: challenges of autonomy in the wake of US withdrawal.” International Affairs 86, no. 6 (November 2010): 1345- 1359.
• • Romano, David ve Gürses, Mehmet. Conflict, Democratization, and the Kurds in he Middle East. Springer, 2014
• • Romano, David. “Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey: Temporary Marriage?” Middle East Policy 22, no. 1 (2015): 89-101.
• • Romano, David. “Iraqi Kurdistan: challanges of autonomy in the wake of US withdrawal.”, International Affairs 86, no. 6 (2010): 1345-1359.
• • Romano, David. “The Future of Kirkuk.” Ethnopolitics 6, no. 2 (2007): 265-283.
• • Romano, David. The Kurdish Nationalist Movement: Oppurtunity, Mobilization and Identity, Cambridge, 2006
• • Romano, David; Hussein, Rikar ve Rowe, Stephen. The United States and Kurds of Iraq: Strange Allies. Springer, 2017
• • Saeed, Seevan. Kurdish Politics in Turkey: From the PKK to the KCK. Routledge, 2016
• • Saeed, Yerevan. “What Biden can and cannot do for the Kurds.” Al Jazeera, 3 December 2020.
• • Sarı, İsmail. “The Syria Safe Zone and the US Policy towards the Syrian Kurds.” İRAM Center, 11 March 2019, https://iramcenter.org/en/the-syria-safe-zone-and-the-us-policy-towards-the-syrian-kurds/.
• • Sarı, İsmail. “The United States Foreign Policy Towards Kurds.” Ortadoğu Etütleri, (2019).
• • Shareef, Mohammed. The United States, Iraq and the Kurds, Shock, Awe and Aftermath. Routledge, 2014
• • Shenon, Philip. "Two Kurd groups unite against Baghdad in pact brokered by U.S." The New York Times, September 18, 1998, https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/18/world/two-kurd-groups-unite-against-baghdad-in-pact-brokered-by-us.html.
• • Teicher, Howard ve Teicher, Gayle Radley. Twin Pillars to Desert Storm: America’s Flawed Vision in the Middle East from Nixon to Bush. William Morrow and Company, 1993
• • Vali, Abbas. “Kurdish Nationalism in Iran.” Journal of Kurdish Studies, (1996-1997).
• • Vali, Abbas. “The Making of Kurdish Identity in Iran.” Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies 4, no. 7 (1995).
• • Van Bruinessen, Martin. Agha, Shaikh, and State: The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan. Zed Books, 1992
• • Wroughton, Lesley. “Kerry in Kurdistan to urge leaders to be part of national government”, Reuters, 24 June 2014, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-usa-kurdistan/kerry-in-kurdistan-to-urge-leaders-to-be-part-of-national-government-idUSKBN0EZ0G020140624.
• • Wroughton, Lesley. “U.S. holds direct talks with embattled Syrian Kurds”, Reuters, 16 October 2014, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-kurds-idUSKCN0I52F520141016.
• • Yıldız, Kerim. The Kurds in Iran: The Past, Present and Future. Pluto Press, 2011
• • Yıldız, Kerim. The Kurds in Iraq: Tha Past, Present and Future. Pluto Press, 2004
• • Yıldız, Kerim. The Kurds in Syria: The Forgotten People. Pluto Press, 2006