DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Iraqi Kurds' failed bid for independence — and their subsequent loss of Kirkuk city and other lands in that province that they had controlled for several years — left many Kurds in Turkey feeling crushed as well.
A man in the streets of predominately Kurdish Diyarbakir asked Al-Monitor recently what was happening in Kirkuk. “Last night when I saw the Hashid Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Units (PMU)] lowering the Kurdish flag [on the news], I cried until morning. Where are America and Europe, which were supposed to be supporting the Kurds?” he asked.