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Old 02-01-2016, 12:17   #1
MR2
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Our Gallant Allies, the Kurds (and Other Fairy Tales)

Our Gallant Allies, the Kurds (and Other Fairy Tales)

The author, Tom Kratman, presents a antithetical opinion of the Kurds that I've been led to believe.

I'm asking anyone whose has any experience to confirm/deny/elaborate what was posted in this short article. Please provide month/year for perspective.

Of course you can always PM privately.

Thank you.
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Old 02-02-2016, 23:35   #2
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Interesting read, MR2. That brings back some things I found peculiar when my team was at COP Nimr in Sinjar. The Peshmerga general was always inviting us, with great enthusiasm, to conduct joint patrols with them in the area. Looking at the map, the towns they wanted to patrol were all very much Arab or Yazidi.

My first thought was "Those not-so-clever little f*ckers want to put an American face or backing on their attempt to dominate/control those villages. The response was always, "Thanks, but no thanks. Maybe next time."

The mayor of Sinjar, a slimy prick named Sarbast (sp) was always trying to collect on us. We were scheduled to meet with him on one occasion and he had one of our terps (who we found out was being blackmailed or threatened) to convince us to show up a couple hours earlier. The reason for that was he had staged a rather elaborate propaganda ceremony where the 12 of us would be sitting up on a stage in front of many video cameras. Mind you, we weren't too keen on this.

When we arrived at the agreed time, they were just removing the 12 chairs from said stage and taking down all the recording equipment. Once inside his office, he had us sit down and then a film crew, along with some shady looking suits came walking in and prepared to record the whole event. I responded with, "Oh, cool. We're all recording this." And proceeded to pull out my mini video camera and turned it on. At that point, the film crew and shady suits made a rather hasty exit.
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Old 02-03-2016, 21:34   #3
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When Kurds were evacuated through Guam in the fall of '96 they were quite the memorable guests. They didn't understand indoor plumbing or electric stoves. Andy South became a civil engineering nightmare. Want a hot dinner? Start a fire on the living room tile floor... when the toilets became unusable, heck, just tear the grate off the shower drain and let 'er rip. Terps explained how these things worked, but it didn't matter because the Kurds didn't care if they trashed the place or not.

Three things stood out: little appreciation by the Kurds for anything we did to help them, zero respect for us or our property that we were sharing, and incessant demands for visas to the US where they expected free homes, food, and cars.
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Old 02-04-2016, 09:55   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tree Potato View Post
When Kurds were evacuated through Guam in the fall of '96 they were quite the memorable guests. They didn't understand indoor plumbing or electric stoves. Andy South became a civil engineering nightmare. Want a hot dinner? Start a fire on the living room tile floor... when the toilets became unusable, heck, just tear the grate off the shower drain and let 'er rip. Terps explained how these things worked, but it didn't matter because the Kurds didn't care if they trashed the place or not.
The benefits of multiculturalism. If you can't convince them to not shit in the shower or on the floor, design a new toilet.

Quote:
German bathroom manufacturers are developing “multicultural toilets” to help ensure Middle Eastern migrants need not adapt to European sanitation norms.

Multiple reports have emerged of recent arrivals finding themselves utterly “mystified” by Western loos. Some have resorted to doing their business on the floor or outdoors, others have used showers, and many migrants will have never seen toilet paper before.

Continue reading
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Old 02-24-2016, 13:15   #5
DirtyNastyLeg
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Kurds

Excellent read.
While those around Silopi/Zakhu were friendly enough, there was always something about them that just didn't set well with me - beyond their cultural and hygienic discrepancies...
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