Potentials for the Kurds in the recent escalation of the Third World War
Article by Selahaddin Erdem, first published on Yeni Özgür Politika.
Saddam Hussein lit the fuse of the world war by proclaiming, “the mother of all wars is starting.” The Gulf War, which began with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, marked the onset of the Third World War. In response, the USA deployed 150,000 troops to the Middle East and took military control of the Persian Gulf region, particularly Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Following the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2002-2003, the US extended its control at the regional level. It is now better understood that, at that time, the US had already begun to realize its project of creating an energy and trade route from India to Greece.
The early 1990s, much like the 1917-18 period, signaled the beginning of a new process worldwide. While the Soviet Revolution in Russia paved the way for at least a partial truce in the world war that had begun, humanity was searching for an alternative world. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, this partial truce came to an end, and the World War resumed. This process, which began in the Gulf based on the USA’s ‘New World Order’ strategy, gradually spread to other parts of the world through economic and political pressure and military aggression.
The new world war's impact on Kurdistan was the establishment of a so-called Kurdish Administration in Hewlêr (Erbil) through ‘Operation Provide Comfort’ in 1991, aimed at preventing the Kurdistan Freedom Movement from spreading to Southern Kurdistan. As a result, the Kurdistan Freedom Movement, which emerged and developed in Northern Kurdistan, was both contained and encircled there. This marked the most concrete initiation of global capitalist intervention against the Kurdistan Freedom Movement. Thus, the foundations of the International Conspiracy attack launched on 9 October 1998 were laid.
If history had unfolded differently, if the ‘Botan-Behdinan Liberated Area’ had been realized in the early 1990s as envisioned by Abdullah Öcalan, how would history have been experienced and recorded? It is clear that, based on this liberated area, the democratic solution process for the Kurdish question in Turkey would have commenced. Turkey would have been democratized on this basis, and the national-democratic forces of Northern and Southern Kurdistan would have united to intervene in the Gulf War, ensuring that the new process in Iraq was founded on the principle of ‘democratic unity.’ In this scenario, the US project to create an Asia-Europe energy route would have been nullified from the outset, and the world war arising from the internal contradictions of the capitalist modernity system would have ended before it even began. Perhaps new steps toward a new world system, which could not be realized in the early 1920s, would have been taken as early as the 1990s. Again, perhaps the Soviet Union, the world’s first state to collapse, which denied Kurdish existence and freedom, would have experienced a reformist change rather than the collapse in question. In short, the events of the last 35 years would not have unfolded as they did, and there would not have been so much bloodshed.
However, history played out as the United States wished, and the Third World War continued to spread and deepen. For this purpose, two things were necessary for the USA. Firstly, in order to intervene in Baghdad, it needed a secure environment, and the greatest danger to it came from the Kurdish Freedom Movement and its leader, Abdullah Öcalan. From this perspective, the US aimed to eliminate or at least weaken this danger through the international conspiracy attack it launched on 9 October 1998. The second requirement was to find a suitable justification for an invasion of Baghdad. Just as with the invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, this justification was found in the Twin Tower attacks of 11 September 2001. Thus, based on the isolation, torture, and genocide of Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali and using the atmosphere created by the Twin Tower attacks in the name of Al-Qaeda, the USA carried out invasion attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq, attempting to consolidate its sovereignty over the world based on the results obtained there.
The third phase of the world war involved utilizing the impact of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ to further strengthen the capitalist modernity system’s control over the Middle East. In a quirk of history, the forces that confronted each other in the first and second stages of the war—namely, the USA and the PKK—fought side by side on the same war front against the Islamic State in this third stage. Undoubtedly, this was a political juxtaposition based on ideological opposition. When both forces demonstrated self-confidence and the will to fight together, the alliance that defeated ISIS and the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria emerged as a result. In fact, this situation was a win for both sides.
Now, the fourth phase of the Third World War is underway. Having established military control over the Persian Gulf and its vicinity in the first two phases, the USA is now trying to assert military control over the Eastern Mediterranean and its surroundings based on the results it has achieved in Egypt and Syria. While it directly employed its military forces in the first two stages, in this fourth stage, it has placed Ukraine and Israel at the forefront. In the name of establishing the state of Israel, the Jewish community spread across the world is being concentrated in one location, while simultaneously creating a political and military force to serve the global capital.
The war in Ukraine has developed on this basis. It has served the USA's interests by striking a significant blow to the energy trade that Russia and China are attempting to develop with European states while strengthening NATO's presence in Europe. The conflict in Gaza has also evolved along these lines, and the Palestinian people striving for freedom have been sacrificed in this war. Israel, showcasing its military power to the peoples of the Middle East and the world with the support of the USA and NATO, is attempting to instill fear in all of humanity through its actions. As part of opening the energy route in the Eastern Mediterranean, Lebanon is now in the crosshairs, and Israel is launching a comprehensive attack against Hezbollah. In this assault, technological advancements are being utilized as a primary tool for massacre in the service of war, and the intensity of the attack has escalated to the level of an assassination attempt on Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. What happens next remains uncertain. What is clear is that this war will continue to spread. The situation in Syria's future is unpredictable. However, it may soon become evident that the situation in Cyprus could deteriorate unexpectedly, leading to a disaster that the fascist AKP-MHP government is dragging Turkey into.
In this fourth stage, the approach to the Kurds is twofold: on the one hand, as seen in Rojava, there is an effort to manage the Kurds and develop ideological influence over them; on the other hand, there is a concerted effort to destroy and liquidate the Kurdish Freedom Movement, the PKK, by providing all forms of military support to the fascism of the AKP-MHP and relying on KDP collaboration. There has been no news from Abdullah Öcalan for 43 months. Since the autumn of 2016, one of the most intense military offensives in history has been launched to crush the guerrilla forces and occupy the Media Defence Zone. Lists for the assassination of PKK leadership have been drawn up, and public massacres are occurring. Comprehensive special warfare attacks are being conducted to distract Kurdish society from resistance. The International Conspiracy, initiated to annihilate Abdullah Öcalan on 9 October 1998 and now reaching its 26th anniversary, continues as a part of these attacks.
Undoubtedly, the conspiratorial attack is total; it is being carried out everywhere and targets all patriotic forces. However, for the organization and execution of this attack, Southern Kurdistan plays a crucial role, with Barzani’s KDP holding a significant position and responsibility. It can be argued that the main local axis of the conspiracy is the Barzani government. Overthrowing the Barzani government would be a crucial and significant development in defeating the International Conspiracy. On 20 October, elections will be held in Southern Kurdistan, presenting a choice between collaborationist treason and patriotism. This election is a vital opportunity to remove the KDP’s collaborationist treachery under the Barzanis from power. It is a fundamental patriotic duty to seize this opportunity effectively. All patriots of Southern Kurdistan must undertake this task in unity, maintaining clarity about the situation and refusing to succumb to despair.
Read more about the different stages:
