Kurdish dreams of a homeland are always dashed
Little has gone right since the end of the Ottoman empire
THE TREATY OF SEVRES, signed in 1920, carved the carcass of the Ottoman Empire into a number of nation states, including a “Kurdish State of the Kurds…east of the Euphrates, south of the southern boundary of Armenia as it may be hereafter determined, and north of the frontier of Turkey with Syria and Mesopotamia.” It would, said Winston Churchill, Britain’s minister of colonies, be “a friendly buffer state” between Turks and Arabs.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “No fixed abode”
From the October 19th 2019 edition
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The obscure Senate functionary whose word is law
Elizabeth MacDonough does more to shape legislation than most congressmen
The big beautiful bill reveals the hollowness of Trumponomics
Republicans mark America’s birthday with a profligate but insubstantial law
The war in Ukraine shows the West can re-arm without re-industrialising
Industrial capacity in peacetime is no longer necessary for success during war
How much did America’s bombs damage Iran’s nuclear programme?
Assessments vary wildly and it is impossible to know for sure
Israel’s war with Iran is over
But its impact is uncertain
Israel’s blitz on Iran is fraught with uncertainty
Much hinges on the stubborn supreme leader and America’s mercurial president