The Kurdish fighters whose very name means “those who confront death” were introduced to you last January in a post titled “Honor and Dignity.” Now seen as Iraq’s hope for repelling the Islamic State militants, the Peshmarga forces are facing severe pressure as another humanitarian crisis unfolds in northern Iraq.

At the time of this posting, there remains confused reporting as to whether the Peshmarga forces had held the Mosul Dam, Iraq’s largest reservoir. Threatened with the possibility of the Islamic State opening the dam and flooding communities, causing massive death and destruction to civilians; or the flipside of withholding water from communities causing the same results over a longer span of suffering, the dilemma continues to unfold.

In an opinion piece published in Rudaw, writer Ayub Nuri discusses what went wrong with the Kurdish-American relationship. Nuri states, “Ten years ago the Kurds saw America as an ally, and America regarded them as friends. The Kurds joined America’s war and contributed to Saddam Hussein’s downfall. Kurdish Peshmarga and security forces offered the Americans intelligence, advice and guidance. Kurdish politicians and ministers went to Baghdad and put into service their two decades of experience to rebuild the Iraqi government. What did they expect in return? A democratic Iraq that America had promised everyone. But ten years on, not only have the Kurds not seen a democratic country that respects their rights, they in fact feel it is often America — not Baghdad — that is acting against them.”

The attempt to control Iraq’s future by controlling the government was done not for the good of the people of Iraq, but for the usual reasons all wars are fought: greed and power (follow the money, remember?). The American influence will now come back to haunt them as the Middle East struggles with the aftermath of broken promises, failed policies and foreign governments without personal stakes in their realm of influence.

The US Congress was able to pass an aid package to Israel to allow them to continue their slaughter of the Palestinian people living in the Gaza Strip. Sworn allies, Israel relies on the US to provide support even when overwhelming evidence and international opinion clearly shows them to be on the wrong side of history. When one reviews the history the US has with the Kurdish people, it is just as clear that this is a chance for them to get it right.

Occupy World Writes remains steadfast in our support of the Kurdish people, the Peshmarga forces, the Rojava region and all efforts for recognition and respect for the Kurds. We call on the United States government to provide the military aid to the Peshmarga forces in coordination with the Iraqi government, We further call on the United States Congress to open to Kurdistan equivalent funds as that provided Israel in the interest of establishing stability and humanitarian aid to the war stricken area.