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Monday, February 9, 2026
[Salon] Syrian Kurds turn to their Iraqi brethren - ArabDigest.org Guest Post
Syrian Kurds turn to their Iraqi brethren
Summary: amid a series of setbacks for Syria’s Kurds in recent weeks one potential silver lining has emerged for their political future.
We thank Sirwan Kajjo for today’s newsletter. Sirwan, a regular contributor to the AD podcast, is a Kurdish American journalist based in Washington D.C. focussing on Kurdish politics, Islamic militancy, extremism, and conflict in the Middle East and beyond. He is the author of Nothing But Soot a novel about a twentysomething Kurdish man whose quest for a permanent home never ends. You can find his latest podcast here.
As the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came under attack by forces aligned with the Syrian interim government, Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) stepped into a leading role, both diplomatically, in efforts to prevent the violence from spreading further into Kurdish areas, and politically, by offering direct support to embattled Kurdish actors in Syria.
The rapid pace of developments in northeast Syria in recent weeks was met by an equally swift humanitarian and political response from Iraqi Kurds in support of their counterparts in Syria. The scale of solidarity, demonstrated by both political forces and ordinary citizens across Iraqi Kurdistan, has few parallels in the Kurds’ complicated political history. It has even surpassed the cross-border mobilisation seen when Kurdish communities in both countries faced attacks by the Islamic State more than a decade ago.
Kurdish women in Erbil braid their hair in an act of defiance in solidarity with a Kurdish fighter who had her braid cut off by a Syrian soldier, 23 January 2026
Despite the loss of much of their hard-won de facto autonomy in recent events, Syrian Kurds may yet find long-term benefit in the strong support emerging from Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. If the current ceasefire between the Syrian government and the SDF holds and evolves into a durable political settlement, Syrian Kurds stand to gain significantly from a close and sustained relationship with the KRG. Here is why:
The KRG possesses substantial diplomatic reach across the region and in Western capitals. In recent weeks, the ruling Barzani family and its Kurdistan Democratic Party, as well as their rivals in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, led by the Talabani family, demonstrated their ability to leverage this political influence in support of Syria’s Kurds. Even before the latest crisis, Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, had emerged as a key destination for regional and international diplomats seeking to defuse tensions between Syria’s Kurdish actors and the central government in Damascus.
For Iraqi Kurds, support for their brethren across the border is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic calculation. The threats confronting Syrian Kurds are not confined to Syria alone. This is a reality Iraqi Kurdish leaders and society recognised clearly during the recent crisis in northeast Syria. With Kurdish autonomy in Syria under pressure, Iraqi Kurds perceived potential spillover effects on their own autonomous region. Although the Kurdistan Region of Iraq enjoys a more institutionalised form of autonomy within Iraq’s federal system, Kurdish leaders nonetheless view the Kurdish political experiment in Syria as strategic depth that reinforces the security and viability of their own political entity.
Syrian Kurds, many of whom have long supported the historic leadership of the Barzanis, also recognised that at this critical juncture it was the Iraqi Kurds who stepped in to support them at a time when most countries – including the United States – aligned with Damascus.
It is important to note, however, that solidarity in times of crisis does not necessarily translate into political consensus among divergent actors. In the Kurdish case in particular, ideological differences between Kurdish political movements across national boundaries run deep. Over the past century, Kurdish political history has been marked by fragmentation and ideological divisions, shaped in large part by the fact that Kurds are spread across four different states (Iraq, Iran, Syria and Türkiye), each with distinct political environments that have compelled Kurdish elites to adopt differing strategies and priorities.
This polarisation has been most evident in Syria and Iraq, where Kurds have adopted two distinct models of governance, largely reflecting ideological differences between the dominant political forces in each region. In Iraq, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is generally characterised as conservative and nationalist. In contrast, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the de facto ruling party in Kurdish Syria, espouses a leftist ideology heavily influenced by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). These divergent ideologies have frequently placed the two Kurdish groups at odds and, at times, led to confrontation.
There are, therefore, clear limits to how far political alignment between Syria’s and Iraq’s Kurds can extend. Yet the recent developments in northeast Syria have been significant enough that many Kurdish ideologues and political figures on both sides have openly called for setting ideological differences aside and prioritising the protection of what remains under Kurdish control in Syria.
It is this shift in attitude, unthinkable even months ago, that has led many Kurds to believe a durable political partnership between Kurdish actors in Iraq and Syria may no longer be far-fetched. With a new generation that is increasingly politically aware, both within the region and across the diaspora, Kurdish unity, at least in a political and strategic sense, appears increasingly realistic more than ever before.
Sunday, February 8, 2026
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Friday, February 6, 2026
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Fr. Bob's Reflection for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Gospel reading today can feel strange, and even unsettling. In the Beatitudes, Jesus seems to turn the world upside down. Instead of praising the successful, the assertive, or the powerful, He tells us that the Kingdom of God is set up to reward the poor, the sad, the meek and the hungry.
Before we hear those words, St. Paul reminds the Corinthians of a hard truth about themselves. Most of them were not wealthy. They were not highly educated. They did not hold positions of power or influence.
And yet, Paul tells them plainly: God chose you, on purpose. Those whom society overlooked were the very ones God called His own.
God wants each of us to know that we matter deeply to Him. Abraham Lincoln once joked, “God must love the common man – He made so many of them.”
Joseph Stalin later mocked the Church by asking, “How many divisions does the Pope have?” By worldly standards, the Church looked weak compared to Stalin’s power and cruelty. Yet today, the Church endures, while Stalin’s empire has long since collapsed.
Time and time again, God works through what the world deems weak, in order to shame the strong. As Saint Paul reminds us, “God chose the weak to confound the strong. God chose the foolish to confound the wise.”
Who else but God could use someone like Mother Teresa – a small, unassuming woman working quietly among the dying in India. She moved nations and governments toward compassion.
To those outside the faith, Christianity often doesn’t make any sense. We believe things that seem impossible. We may even appear foolish in the eyes of the world.
We believe in one God in three Persons. We believe that God was born in a stable, died on a cross and rose from the dead. We believe that Christ comes to us under the humble appearances of bread and wine. We believe in loving God above all else and loving our neighbor as ourselves – even neighbors we don’t like or barely know.
No wonder the world sometimes looks at us as if we’re crazy. But maybe being Christian means being willing to look foolish.
Have you ever been to a rodeo? The cowboys are the stars of the show – strong, skilled and daring. The crowd cheers them on. But when a cowboy is thrown from his horse and lies helpless in the arena, it’s the clowns who rush in. With silly costumes and funny antics, they distract the animal while others pull the fallen rider to safety.
The crowd laughs, but in truth, the clowns are the real heroes. When danger strikes, when someone is vulnerable and in need of mercy, it takes courage and compassion to step in. When someone is down, send in the clowns.
They’re all around us: ordinary Christians trying to live the Gospel, day by day. Not seeking applause or recognition – only striving to do God’s will.
Today’s Gospel invites us to ask an honest question: What qualifies us to be called “blessed” by Jesus? Are we merciful? Are we peacemakers? Are we poor in spirit?
There are no easy answers. It might be simpler to ignore the challenge altogether. But perhaps there’s an unspoken Beatitude for us as well: “Blessed are those who struggle with the issues; who suffer criticism for acting on behalf of the Gospel.”
If Christ were to look at you today and say, “Blessed are you because…”
How would you finish that sentence?
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Robert Warren, S.A.
Spiritual Director
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Monday, February 2, 2026
[Salon] ISIS unleashed - ArabDigest.org Guest Post by Sirwan Kajjo
ISIS unleashed
Summary: with the US choosing to throw in its lot with the al-Sharaa regime, it was only a matter of time before Syria’s Kurds and their fighting arm the SDF were defeated. Last month's rout of Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria has allowed the escape of ISIS fighters and the release of their families into a chaotic situation that could see a resurgence of terrorism in the region and beyond.
Today’s newsletter focusses on comments about the Islamic State made by the Kurdish-American journalist Sirwan Kajjo in our 28 January podcast. You can find the podcast here.
The SDF was the crucial element in the battle to defeat ISIS and it was heavily backed by the United States over several years. What happened to the US support for the SDF?
Since the arrival of al-Sharaa in Damascus, the United States decided to support this new government. It was a meeting back in May 2025 between President Donald Trump and the interim president of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh, that basically changed things for everyone in Syria, including the SDF. And later on, in November of the same year, al-Sharaa came to the White House, had another meeting, and then joined the anti-ISIS global coalition. The United States decided that in Syria there's only one group that we can work with. While they continued their partnership with the SDF, they made it very clear that in the future, if there is any way for the SDF to continue the partnership, it would have to be through their integration into the Syrian government and the Syrian state writ large. But recently, after the outbreak of the violence in Aleppo and later on in eastern Syria, the United States made it even more clear that it's over for the SDF. If they do want to join the Syrian military and the Syrian state, then they should do so by joining individually, not as an intact force which has for a long time been a major demand for the Kurdish-led forces and also a major point of contention between Damascus and the SDF. So it's become clear that the United States no longer supports the SDF at least in the way it did in the past decade and in the framework of the fight against ISIS.
Following the Syrian Army offensive, an ISIS flag was raised at the entrance to Al-Karamah, Al-Raqqah, Syria. The video is not from the ISIS period as the wheat monument (circled in blue) was built after the town was liberated in 2017.
It would appear to me that the Syrian Kurds have been betrayed. Is that how you see it?
Well, I should say the United States, since the beginning of this partnership with the SDF a decade ago, has been very consistent in terms of defining the relationship with the Kurdish-led forces, that this was a transactional partnership. This was not meant to be a strategic partnership in the context of giving an opportunity for the Kurds to establish a lasting autonomy in the Northeast. And this was reiterated recently by US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, that it was meant to be in the context of fighting ISIS and he basically said that that partnership had expired. And so many Kurds would like to call this a betrayal, but from a US perspective, everything was clear from the get go, from the minute the United States, under the Obama administration, decided to support the Kurds directly in the fight against ISIS. It's remained in that context, even though that partnership has allowed the Kurds to expand territory and build institutions that function in a de facto capacity in the Northeast and so, yes, from a Kurdish perspective, Kurds have been a loyal partner to the United States and other Western powers and in return they expected more assertive support in the post-Assad era.
Washington is the key here. And Tom Barrack made it very clear: ‘this is it, our support is finished. We're walking away from you. We're supporting al-Sharaa’.
That's basically what happened. The United States still maintains about 1000 troops in the region, although some of them have been moved around given the changing dynamics in the Northeast. So, there is still a US military presence. I don't know how much effect that will have given that the Syrian government forces have taken over much of the territory that was controlled by the SDF. And so, yes, if there is any support for the Kurds in the future it will probably be in terms of forcing them to continue this integration process. The United States remains determined that any integration of the SDF into the Syrian state will have to be by terms dictated by Damascus.
There are people listening to the podcast thinking, well, ISIS was defeated. It's no longer a threat. But Sirwan, you and I both know that's far from the case. What has happened with the prisons and the camps holding ISIS fighters and their families now that the SDF has been defeated?
They were immediately taken over by the al-Sharaa forces, including the al-Hol camp which is the largest camp, holding thousands of families of ISIS militants including many foreign citizens. Now, it's a chaotic situation in certain prisons, like in al-Shaddadi, which is located in the southern part of Hasakah province where a prison break happened and many ISIS prisoners were able to escape. Some of them were captured by the Syrian forces, others remain at large, so those would eventually pose a threat and not only to the Kurdish region but also to areas under al-Sharaa’s control. And you also have these other thousands of families, including women and children, that have been held in these camps, most of them still hold an ISIS extremist ideology, so they do pose a direct threat to the security of the region and to regional security as a whole. Some of them have been moved to Iraq. The US said that the Iraqis have initiated a process of taking as much as 7000 individuals from al-Hol camp. Now, that's major but we also hear some opposition voices within Iraq basically saying it's not a good idea even though Iraqi officials say this is a temporary arrangement until there is a process where these individuals are repatriated to their home countries. All in all, it's a very chaotic situation because, yes, ISIS was defeated territorially. Militarily, it no longer held territory but they've been very active since 2019. And in the Syrian desert known as al-Badia, we have seen an uptick of ISIS activity in those areas, especially after the collapse of the Assad regime. I'm not trying to be hyperbolic here but the threat is very real given that the Syrian government has shown it doesn't have the capacity to counter ISIS, not least because some members of the Syrian military are former ISIS or former al-Qaeda, and some still hold that extremist ideology. So, it's dangerous in that sense as well. We will see how the US and its Western allies will deal with this situation but it's certainly one of great significance in the long run.
Yes, and you mentioned that there are former ISIS fighters - who may not be former, when I think about it - in the Syrian armed forces. I'm also told that in the security services, there are ISIS sympathisers, fellow travellers, whatever you want to call them. So there is the threat, of course, to Iraq, to Syria, but also beyond those borders. I'm thinking about Europe. ISIS lost the caliphate but the ideology has not been defeated, has it?
No, it has only seen a resurgence in the past few months, for these reasons that you mentioned. The official ISIS narrative opposes the al-Sharaa government. They think it's an apostate regime, a puppet regime that is loyal to the West and many within ISIS, as well as people who sympathise with the group, still believe this is a chance to try to have a resurgence in many parts of Syria. And we see that online. I saw some reporting on camps holding ISIS families celebrating the fact that their brothers are coming for us, things like that. So, there is a sense of victory among people including those who are still in Kurdish custody. This is definitely something that Western officials should consider if they are concerned about their own security. In Europe in particular, given that many of these individuals do come from European backgrounds.
Sunday, February 1, 2026
Pope Leo XIV urges youth politics rooted in peace
Pope Leo XIV urges youth politics rooted in peace
The Pope urged young leaders to take courage, reminding them that their efforts toward fraternity are shared across cultures and faiths.
Pope Leo XIV addressed young political leaders from around the world at the “One Humanity, One Planet” conference on Saturday, urging them to ground political life in peace, justice, and care for the most vulnerable.
Speaking in the Clementine Hall, the Pope praised the participants’ commitment to the common good and highlighted their diversity as a strength rather than a challenge. Their approach, he said, embodies synodality — a way of proceeding marked by listening, shared discernment, and respect for complexity.
“Your way of proceeding is not incidental,” he told them. “It serves as the essential lens through which you observe the world.” In a global climate shaped by polarization and conflict, the Pope framed synodality as a practical tool for political engagement, one capable of seeking truth without fear and collaboration without erasing differences.
The address repeatedly returned to peace, which the Pope described as a gift received, a covenant shared, and a promise yet to be fulfilled. Peacebuilding, he insisted, does not begin on the world stage but in daily settings: universities, workplaces, civic groups, and political parties. Without harmony in those spaces, global peace remains an abstraction.
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Iran Says It Will Not Negotiate With US on Ballistic Missiles
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https://www.ft.com/content/44c4094b-09a6-47ce-a28a-81c2f18f1cb9
Friday, January 30, 2026
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