Before it began, 2020 was assessed to be the last year of the Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011. This turned out to be either wishful thinking or an overly optimistic assumption which fell victim to the Coronavirus. As the year approaches its end, the conflict is still there, with most of the same domestic and foreign actors – the Assad regime and its opposition, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Israel, the United States and various Jihadi groups. What are the military and political pictures? Panel: – Jonathan Hessen, Host. – Amir Oren, Analyst. – Prof. Zeev Khanin, Expert on Russian and Middle Eastern Studies, Bar Ilan and Ariel Universities. – Dr. Nir Boms, Research Fellow, Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University.
Kurds With over 33 million Kurds, they are one of the world’s largest people without a state, making up sizable minorities in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Kurds are the 4th largest ethnic group in the Middle East. IT IS TIME TO CORRECT A HISTORICAL MISTAKE – with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WWI, the allies created the post modern Mid-East. The Treaty of Sevres provided for an Independent Kurdistan. In 1923 the treaty of Lausanne created the modern state of Turkey , Iraq, and Syria, but Kurdistan was ignored. During Turkey’s War of Independence , Turkish Leaders promised the Kurds a Turkish – Kurdish federated state in return for their assistance in the war. After Turkey gained their independence, they refused to honor the bargain they made with Kurds .
