Funker530 interviews Jordan Matson, US citizen fighting ISIS

[davmat787]

One of my favorite websites, funker530, has a 30 minute interview with Jordan Matson. Matson is a U.S. citizen and former Army who went to Syria on his own volition to join the YPG in their fight against ISIS.





He is on leave after marrying a (incredibly beautiful) Kurdish girl. He discusses what it is really like, politics with Turkey, .etc. He will be taking to U.S. officials in hopes of providing assistance directly to the Kurds and what he will be doing when he returns.





I'm only about a third of the way in but Jordan seems to give a very direct yet humble assessment of his experience. I hope he is successful in his endeavors to drum up direct support for the Kurdish people and wish him happiness and success with his new marriage.





His comments regarding Turkey are very interesting, and for those still confused about YPG/J, Peshmerga, PKK, Turkey and the Kurds you will be enlightened.





Interview link: http://www.funker530.com/video-interview-with-jordan-matson-funker530-exclusive/



Edit: I found his comments regarding inter-Kurdish politics very interesting, especially how various factions and parties view one another. His story of his first posting, taking shrapnel, and having his group ordered to stay rather than advance which means mortar teams have their firing solution dialed in is one many a soldier can relate to I imagine.



Also thought the Kurds giving up Al Hasaka intentionally so they could encircle ISIS was brilliant.

 

[davmat787]

Even if you're on team ISIS I think you will find this video extremely interesting.



Turkey, Kurdish politics, YPG/J vs. Peshmerga vs PKK explained, strategy that allowed ISIS to be encircled at Al Hasaka, pics of his hot Kurdish wife, .etc all in the interview. He's basically sharing the Kurdish point of view as he has come to learn it along with his own observations.

His interview on BBC is also on his Facebook page, very interesting to anyone following the fight against ISIS and their particularly brutal brand of Islamic extremism.

 

[HTFOff]

Definitely going to check this out, thanks.

 

[davmat787]

Turkey pulling what many were worried about. According to ABC and other sources, Turkey is using supposed bombing runs against ISIS as cover to instead bomb Kurds.

Turkey needs to choose sides and decide once and for all if they will honor the spirit of their NATO membership. Once ISIS is dealt with their are better ways to deal with the long standing Turkish - Kurdish issue. Using the war against ISIS as cover to kill Kurds won't gain any Western favor.

And to know they are doing all this with F-16s and other U.S. armaments only rubs salt in the wounds.

I'd really like the U.S. to set precedent by standing by and for the Kurds without exception today and the future. Their ideal of a secular autonomous region, if not state, is sorely needed in the middle east. Their unflinching protection of religious minorities, women's rights, and battlefield prowess against ISIS has earned them nothing less than this.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Just when it seemed Turkey was getting serious about the fight against IS, it has turned its military focus to pounding its old foe: the Kurdish rebels.

In Turkey's Kurdish heartland, the government's renewed military onslaught against the rebels has left many people crying treachery — with suspicions rife that Turkey used a brief offensive against IS as a cover to launch a broad attack against the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. Many Kurds also are venting frustration against the United States, accusing Washington of turning a blind eye to Turkish attacks on the Kurds in exchange for logistical support on IS.

"We are used to this. Kurds have witnessed betrayal for centuries" said Axin Bro, a musician. "National powers use us for their own ends."

The U.S. had welcomed Turkey's air assault last week on the Islamic State group, along with its decision to open air bases for American sorties, as a sign that Turkey had dropped its reluctance to fight the extremist group. Since then, Turkish jets taking off from this city in Kurdish-dominated lands have been hitting PKK targets in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey, as the militant group has targeted military and police in Turkey.

Turkish jets again pounded PKK targets in northern Iraq in an operation Thursday that lasted two and a half hours, a government official said. He said the latest airstrikes were in retaliation for an attack on troops stationed near the border with Iraq earlier in the day that killed three soldiers. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules requiring prior authorization to speak to journalists.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-onslaught-kurds-attack-fuels-anger-32781323

 

[davmat787]

Curious if anyone else watched this interview and if so what your takeaways were?

I thought at least a few others would find this very interesting but perhaps not.

This will be my last thinly veiled bump for this thread in hopes of drumming up interest and discussion lol.

Oh, almost forgot to send a proper fuck you to Erdogon.