'No friends but the mountains.' Kurds want Trump's help for Iran ground war

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: USA Today

Updated March 15, 2026, 12:18 p.m. ET


ON A KURDISH BASE NEAR THE BORDER WITH IRAN – Soon, there could be military boots on the ground crossing into the Islamic Republic of Iran from this terrain of fertile valleys, deep gorges and ancient Mesopotamian trade routes perched below the mountainous border dividing Iraq and Iran.

They may not be American ones.

The White House says ground operations are "not part of the plan right now" as the U.S.-Israel war against Iran enters its third week. President Donald Trump has reportedly alleged Iran is "about to surrender," though there is no indication of that from Tehran. According to Israeli and U.S. officials, the war is designed to hunt down key figures in Iran’s clerical regime while crippling Tehran’s long-range ballistic missile arsenal and nuclear program.

Still, as the war barrels forward on an uncertain trajectory, some exiled Iranian Kurdish opposition officials and fighters − "Peshmerga,” a name that translates in English to "those who face death" − tell USA TODAY they have an invasion plan ready to activate. All they're waiting for, they say, is U.S. military air cover to launch the operation.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/03/15/kurdish-fighters-iran-war-trump/89133073007/

[displacedvermoter]

1. Why would they possibly trust him?

[Irish_Dem]

2. They don't trust Trump. They will use him and manipulate him.

[displacedvermoter]

3. Like in Syria?

[Irish_Dem]

5. Always ask who benefits? And how much did Trump make off the deal?

[displacedvermoter]

7. And how many of our braves allies,

in Syria, in Afghanistan, has Trump abandoned.

Speaking of Afghanistan, I wish the first thing Biden had done was tell all parties that the deal the Trump Admin was on hold until we had a handle on how fucked up things were on the ground. The whole thing was a prearranged disaster, and Biden never recovered momentum.

And how many Afghanis did we end up abandoning to their fate, and even now Trump is fucking over more Afghanis who came here for sanctuary.

Again, why would the Kurds ever trust us?

[Irish_Dem]

8. Anyone who trusts Trump is a fool.

Or playing him like a fiddle.

[modrepub]

4. Not An Expert On Kurds

As far as I know, the Kurdish ethnic group is divided between multiple independent states; Turkey, Syria, maybe Lebanon, Iraq and Iran. If Kurds are willing to try and violently overthrow the government of one county, why would any country with ethnic Kurdish elements within it think Kurds wouldn't do the same to them and oppress Kurds in their country?

As folks point out, the Kurds always seem to be used by other elements to do their bidding, only to be tossed aside when they are no longer needed. It just seems they are not learning anything and secondly, that constantly taking up arms to fight hasn't won them any type of independence or improved their people's lot in life.

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Interesting article. They need to stick with the mountains. No one should trust a psychopath.

Characteristics of Psychopaths

1. Aggressive, callous, and cunning
2. Complete absence of conscience and empathy
3. Very adept at manipulating others
4. Willingness to engage in immoral, criminal conduct
5. Willingness to take what they want and do as they please, regardless of who is hurt or wronged
6. Deceptive ability to appear outwardly benevolent
7. Deceptive ability to behave in superficially charming ways to hide purely selfish motives
8. Willingness to use intimidation and violence to control others in order to satisfy their own needs
9. Willingness to intentionally violate the basic inherent human rights of others
10. Complete absence of any sense of guilt or remorse for the harm their actions have caused to others
11. Rationalization of their own immoral behavior
12. Will attempt to lay blame upon someone else for their own conduct
13. Denial, will deny their own wrongdoing outright
14. Utter contemptuousness toward the feelings and desires of their fellow beings
15. Pathological lying, will say anything without any concern for truth to advance their own hidden agendas
16. Ablity to feign [fake] normal human emotions and empathy
17. Distorted sense of the consequences of their actions
18. Total failure to accept any responsibility for their own socially irresponsible ways
19. Strong bellef that they will never be brought to justice for their criminal behavior

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

9. Trump's pal Erdogan wouldn't like that.

Last edited Sun Mar 15, 2026, 06:36 PM - Edit history (1)

Erdogan's government is as genocidal against the Kurds as Netanyahu's is about the Palestinians. Both need to use the flames of racist nationalism to keep hold of power. Trump is firmly in both of their pockets.

Since Trump apparently has profitable real estate interests in Türkiye, and likely wants more, I wouldn't look for Trump to empower any of the Kurdish groups. That goes for the "leftist" Rojava Kurds' YPG/YPJ in Syria who he sold out in his first administration, the gangster Barzani's Kurdish Peshmerga in Northern Iraq, or any of the underground groups in Northern Iran.

If you'd like evidence that Trump is in Erdogan's pocket, see as one example:
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-iran-2676169463/