Support the Kurdish People of Kobane City in Their Fight Against ISIL
iincreasing the use of airstrikes and mobilizing the full extent of our resources in the region, as well as pressuring regional actors to support Kobane
I am signing this petition to show my support for the people of Kobane, a Kurdish city on the border between Turkey and Syria, who are at this moment in danger of being overrun by the terrorist organization calling themselves ?The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,? or ISIL. Already, nearly 200,000 residents of Kobane have been displaced, escaping the ISIL heavy bombardment. As your constituent, I am urging you to take immediate, decisive action to prevent the fall of the city, an event that will be catastrophic not only for the innocent civilians of Kobane and the surrounding villages, but for the long-term peace and stability of the Middle East.
As we have seen throughout Iraq and Syria, ISIL can only be described as savages. They celebrate the acts of genocide and revel in their atrocities. They fear nothing and target innocent civilians and soldiers alike. They use rape, sexual violence, and slavery as weapons of war. They have already committed genocide of horrible proportions against the Yezidi/ Ã?zidi Kurds and Christians; as it stands, these communities will take generations to recover.
Currently, several Kurdish volunteer groups are fighting to prevent ISIL from taking the city of Kobane. They are poorly armed, short on ammunition, lack medical supplies, and surrounded. Kurds of all ages and genders have joined the effort; from school children to elderly grandparents are fighting with whatever they have. This of course contrasts with ISIL who is bringing the full force of American-made tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery to bear against innocent civilians.
Should Kobane fall, the slaughter of its citizens will only be the beginning. ISIL will claim a victory against the US-led coalition, further emboldening and legitimizing it. The Kurdish groups fighting in Kobane are some of the last coherent, capable, and moderate forces in Syria. Without them, ISIL will easily crush Syrian groups and gain even greater momentum and resources. The other two Kurdish cantons in Syria will undoubtedly come under similar sieges. Any momentum gained in Syria will only amplify ISIL?s attacks in Iraq, further destabilizing a country that is on the verge of collapse.
I urge you to take immediate action to save the people of Kobane. This includes greatly increasing the use of airstrikes and mobilizing the full extent of our resources in the region, as well as pressuring regional actors to do the same. This also means arming and supplying the coherent, moderate Kurdish groups currently fighting in Kobane, as they fight on behalf of the free world. If they do not degrade and defeat ISIL in towns like Kobane, we may have to do that in our western capitals. Make no mistake, this is genocide in motion and it does not stop here. How many times must we all say ?Never again??
As we have seen throughout Iraq and Syria, ISIL can only be described as savages. They celebrate the acts of genocide and revel in their atrocities. They fear nothing and target innocent civilians and soldiers alike. They use rape, sexual violence, and slavery as weapons of war. They have already committed genocide of horrible proportions against the Yezidi/ Ã?zidi Kurds and Christians; as it stands, these communities will take generations to recover.
Currently, several Kurdish volunteer groups are fighting to prevent ISIL from taking the city of Kobane. They are poorly armed, short on ammunition, lack medical supplies, and surrounded. Kurds of all ages and genders have joined the effort; from school children to elderly grandparents are fighting with whatever they have. This of course contrasts with ISIL who is bringing the full force of American-made tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery to bear against innocent civilians.
Should Kobane fall, the slaughter of its citizens will only be the beginning. ISIL will claim a victory against the US-led coalition, further emboldening and legitimizing it. The Kurdish groups fighting in Kobane are some of the last coherent, capable, and moderate forces in Syria. Without them, ISIL will easily crush Syrian groups and gain even greater momentum and resources. The other two Kurdish cantons in Syria will undoubtedly come under similar sieges. Any momentum gained in Syria will only amplify ISIL?s attacks in Iraq, further destabilizing a country that is on the verge of collapse.
I urge you to take immediate action to save the people of Kobane. This includes greatly increasing the use of airstrikes and mobilizing the full extent of our resources in the region, as well as pressuring regional actors to do the same. This also means arming and supplying the coherent, moderate Kurdish groups currently fighting in Kobane, as they fight on behalf of the free world. If they do not degrade and defeat ISIL in towns like Kobane, we may have to do that in our western capitals. Make no mistake, this is genocide in motion and it does not stop here. How many times must we all say ?Never again??
View Comments