France To The Rescue? Government To Arm Kurdish Fighters Against ISIS

France will follow America’s lead and begin arming the Kurdish soldiers fighting ISIS in northern Iraq. The shipments are being coordinated with the Iraqi government and will ultimately head for the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, Irbil.

France considers this to be an urgent situation, urgent enough to prompt planes with weapons to deploy merely hours after the sudden announcement according to the AP. The arms shipments from France have not been described in any detail.

A sign of real danger?

The growing ISIS Islamic army has prompted outrage over social media as fighters have shown pictures of themselves with beheaded children and conducting savage executions. The turmoil in Iraq has forced some U.S. embassy personnel to relocate.

But France getting involved might be the ultimate sign of emergency.

Earlier this week, the European Union attempted, and failed, to agree on a common policy towards ISIS in Iraq. In lieu of a unified response, the member states agreed that individual countries could intervene in the situation, with the permission of the Iraqi government.

France took up that call, and is urging other EU countries to do more to help the Christians and other minorities suffering from the conflict.

The French government has also sent humanitarian aid including medicine, tents, and water treatment equipment.

The U.S. has also stepped up help to the Kurdish people directly.

The U.S. defense department announced they would begin arming the Kurdish fighters, known as the Peshmerga, to help protect against ISIS. On Tuesday this week, 130 U.S. troops also came to Irbil to coordinate the rescue of Yazidi civilians on Sinjar Mountain.

Likewise, the U.S. has been conducting airstrikes against ISIS targets.

The Kurdish people have been a controversial topic in foreign relations for decades. The Kurds occupy pieces of Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Turkey, and many have fought for most of the 20th century for some form of recognition or independence.

During Saddam Hussein’s reign in Iraq, the Kurds were subjected to genocidal treatment and many were killed with poison gas. In the years after Saddam’s fall, the Kurdish controlled section of the country has remained the most stable and peaceful in Iraq.

A united Kurdistan, the hypothetical country for this nation-less people, has always been out of reach.

Now the Kurds are providing a vehicle for the U.S. and France to fight against ISIS as it tries to create a radical Islamic state out of Iraq and Syria on the ground. It seems like some people can never get a break.

[Image Credit: Jim Gordon/Wikimedia Commons]