According to Kordpress, Donald Trump's recent statements about the Kurds have once again revealed one of the oldest divisions in the Middle East; A gap that many Kurds see as a long history of instrumental use and then abandonment by America. In the past few days, the US President not only claimed that Washington intended to send weapons to the Kurdish forces during the recent war, but also accused the Kurds of keeping these weapons for themselves. The claim was met with a sharp reaction from the leaders.

"The Kurds let us down," Trump said in a controversial speech. "It's a disgrace and I will remember that." He also claimed that the Kurds "always want more and only get it."

These words were raised while both the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government and the Kurdish parties have denied receiving any weapons from America. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also tried to moderate Trump's comments, saying his words should not be taken as an endorsement of a secret weapons program.

However, the main question remains: was there basically a plan for military cooperation between the US and the Kurdish groups?

Kurds; A victim of the war of narratives

In Trump's narrative, the Kurds are presented as ungrateful allies who have abused US aid. In the Israeli narrative, the Kurds are portrayed as a potential tool to advance Tel Aviv's goals; An image that could reinforce long-standing accusations about Kurdish movements' dependence on foreign powers.

In contrast, the dominant narrative in Türkiye and part of the Kurdistan region of Iraq is that the Kurdish leaders decided not to enter into a project whose benefits were uncertain and whose costs were very heavy.

A history of promises and abandonment

The cold reaction of Kurdish public opinion to Trump's statements is rooted in a much deeper experience. For many Kurds, the recent words of the American president are just the latest link in a long chain of infidelities and retreats from Washington.

Examples of this historical experience are not few:

The silence of a large part of the world community against the chemical attacks of Saddam Hussein's regime against the Kurds in 1988;

The continuous disregard of the Western powers to Türkiye's repressive policies against the Kurds;

Failure to fulfill many expectations of the Iraqi Kurds from America after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003;

The opposition of the United States and Western countries to the independence referendum of the Kurdistan Region in 2017;

Trump's decision in 2019 to withdraw American forces from northern Syria, which paved the way for Turkish military operations against Kurdish forces;

And finally, Washington's cautious stance towards the recent developments in Syria and the political demands of the Kurds.

This series of events has strengthened the belief in the political memory of the Kurds that America supported the Kurds whenever they needed their cooperation.

Why are the Kurds reluctant to enter the American war?

Many observers believe that the experience of the past decades has made an important part of the Kurdish political currents look more cautiously at the proposals of foreign powers.

A Kurdish official, who did not want to be named, said in an interview with the National Context: "In a world where the great powers act only based on their own interests, why should the Kurds bear the war of others for rights that it is not known whether they will receive or not?"

Trump's new insult in the heart of an old wound

For many Kurds, the issue is not just an accusation or a political dispute. What provoked the reactions is Trump's humiliating tone towards the people who were considered one of the most important allies of America in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria in the past years.

According to critics, Trump is trying to blame the failure of the larger goals of America and Israel on an actor who has neither an independent government nor the ability to respond effectively in the international arena. For this reason, among many Kurds, his statements are not considered a political criticism, but another example of the same historical pattern; A pattern in which the Kurds have been used as allies many times, but have been left alone in critical situations.

Even today, while Washington and its allies are evaluating the results of the recent war, many Kurds believe that the story has not changed: the big powers are still looking for their interests, and the Kurds, more than ever, are forced to define their destiny based on their calculations and interests, not the promises of foreign powers.

Sources: Conversation, National Context