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Blog Introduction and The Kurdish Fighters in Syria

Hi everyone,

Hope you guys are doing well. Just to give a bit more light on blogs, my vice chairs and I will be making posts every week about news and articles that we feel are relevant to our topic for CRISIS committee as well as other posts about position papers and actual committee proceedings. I suggest trying your best to keep up to date on current events within the Middle East as well as any news relevant to your countries. I also highly encourage posting your own thoughts in the comments section, and my dais will do our best in replying to all of your comments.

To start things off, I came across an interesting article in the New York Times about the Kurdish fighters in Syria known as the People's Protection Units, or Y.P.G. The Y.P.G. played a major role in pushing the Islamic State out of northeastern Syria backed by U.S. military support. However, the Y.P.G. is now involved in increasing tensions with Turkish forces in northwestern Syria. Moreover, the Y.P.G. has also been tied to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a group responsible for violent separatist movements in Turkey and has been labeled a terrorist organization by both the U.S. and Turkey. Previously an impoverished group of people, the Y.P.G. in Syria have emerged as a significant political and military force in the northeastern Syrian region.

The situation with the Y.P.G. is definitely a sticky one; the U.S. have backed the Kurds heavily up to this point but Turkey is also a NATO ally of the United States. Moreover, there could be reason for concern that the Y.P.G., a group that has deep connections to the Kurdistan Workers' Party which is labeled a terrorist organization, seems to be growing stronger and stronger. If anything, the situation in Syria between Turkey and the Kurdish fighters is one that should continue to be monitored, as the rise of the Kurds in Syria could have significant political and military implications in the Middle Eastern region in the future.

Here is the link to the article:
https://nyti.ms/2Fgcj48

 I hope you guys are excited for CRISIS, and look forward to meeting you guys in just a month!

Andy

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