Who are the Kurds and why does Trump want them to join the war on Iran?

"Numbering between 30 and 40 million worldwide, most live amid the peaks and valleys straddling the borders of Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. The Kurds link their history to that of the Medes, an ancient Middle Eastern people. They were left stateless a century ago when the borders of the modern Middle East emerged from the collapsing Ottoman empire."

"Despite significant diversity, the Kurds have their own distinct culture, with a language related to Persian that has many dialects, music, cuisine and identity. Their nationalism has its roots in the late 19th century but dreams of a homeland have been repeatedly dashed, and promises made across a century or more by imperial powers such as Britain and then the US to support their national ambitions have gone unfulfilled."

"Since the second world war, a series of authoritarian regimes, rulers and governments in the region have brutally repressed Kurds, displacing and killing entire communities. Outside powers have sought to exploit the Kurds to gain leverage, sowing dissension and rivalry. Such interventions frequently brought disastrous results for Kurdish communities."

The Kurds represent one of the world's largest stateless ethnic groups, with 30-40 million people spread across mountainous regions spanning Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Tracing their ancestry to the ancient Medes, Kurds developed a distinct culture with their own language related to Persian, unique music, cuisine, and identity. Nationalism emerged in the late 19th century, but repeated promises of support from imperial powers like Britain and the United States failed to materialize. Throughout the 20th century, authoritarian regimes brutally repressed Kurdish populations through displacement and violence. The Kurds have historically relied on the peshmerga militia for defense. In Turkey, conflict with the PKK resulted in over 40,000 deaths, while in Iraq, Saddam Hussein deployed chemical weapons against Kurdish communities.

Read at www.theguardian.com