Who the Kurds are
RARELY have the Kurds received so much attention. But since the jihadists calling themselves Islamic State started to take over large swathes of Iraq in June the Kurds have proved their military mettle. In Iraq, they stepped in to take areas that the federal security forces abandoned and battled to protect Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq. In Syria they have been fighting to stop Kurdish areas including Kobane, a town on the Turkish border, from falling into jihadist hands. They have been supported in their fight by airstrikes from the American-led coalition since August, who have also provided them with training and weapons.库尔德人极少受到如此多的关注。六月以来圣战分子自称伊斯兰国，开始占据伊拉克的大片地带，库尔德人证明了自己的尚武精神。在伊拉克，库尔德人参与接管联邦安全部队放弃的地区并且展开埃尔比勒（伊拉克库尔德自治区首府）保卫战。他们在叙利亚战斗，防止库尔德人地区（包括科巴尼，这是邻近土耳其边境的一个城镇）陷入圣战分子之手。自八月起，以美国为首的盟军不仅通过空袭支持库尔德人作战而且向他们提供训练和武器。
Historically nomads, the Kurds are spread across Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Armenia. When the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the first world war the winning Western powers outlined a Kurdish state, known as Kurdistan, but that never came to fruition. Since then many have fought for autonomy or independence, and have been repressed in return. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein tried to eliminate the Kurds, most notably attacking them with chemical weapons in Halabja in 1988. In Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, better known as the PKK, has battled the government for some 30 years (although a fragile ceasefire is currently in place). And in Syria some 300, 000 Kurds were stateless and banned from using their own language and culture.
在历史上，库尔德人是游牧民族，分布于叙利亚、伊拉克、土耳其和亚美尼亚。第一次世界大战，奥斯曼帝国战败，获胜的西方列强规划了一个库尔德国家，即所谓的库尔德斯坦，但是这个计划从来都没有实现过。此后，很多库尔德人以自治或者独立为奋斗目标，遭到镇压。在伊拉克，萨达姆•侯赛因企图消灭库尔德人，特别是1988年他在哈拉布贾用化学武器袭击库尔德人。在土耳其，库尔德工人党（就是有名的PKK）和政府打仗，持续30年左右（虽然现在双方达成脆弱的停火协议）。在叙利亚大约有三十万库尔德人没有国籍，他们被禁止使用自己的语言和文化。
The Kurds, who are estimated to number 20m-30m, share not only the fight against Islamic State but a race, culture and language. Most are Sunni Muslims, but the Kurdish areas are known for their tolerance and the plurality of their sects. Thousands of Christians fled from other parts of Iraq to the northern Kurdish region during the violence of 2006-2007. This year they were joined by many thousands more who have fled from the Islamic State. Since 1991 Iraq’s Kurdish region has had semi-autonomy from Baghdad; Kurdish is the national language. In Syria the Kurds have largely ruled themselves since Bashar Assad withdrew the majority of his forces in 2012. The areas have oil and agriculture aplenty. The Kurds have skilled fighters (both men and women) and a vibrant political scene. Today Kurdish areas are some of the most stable and well-governed parts of the region, despite endemic corruption.
据估计，库尔德人的人口在两千万到三千万之间，他们不仅抵抗伊斯兰国，还在捍卫自己的民族、文化和语言。大部分库尔德人是逊尼派穆斯林，然而库尔德地区以包容和多元教派著称。2006~2007年动荡之际，数千基督徒从伊拉克的其他地方逃到北部库尔德地区。1991年以来，伊拉克的库尔德地区对于巴格达而言，处于半自治的地位，库尔德语是民族语言。自2012年巴沙尔•阿萨德从库尔德地区撤走大部分军队，当地库尔德人开始高度自治。这个地方有石油，农业发达。库尔德人有技术过硬的战士（男兵女兵都有），还有生气勃勃的政治舞台。今天，虽然库尔德地区贪腐严重，然而还是中东最稳定，治理的最好的地方。
This, and the central role they are now playing in the international fight against Islamic State, may make it harder to ignore Kurdish pleas for greater autonomy, if not independence. Yet many obstacles remain. America has long said it believes independence for Iraqi Kurdistan would destabilise that country. Although Turkey has close relations with Iraq’s Kurds in Erbil, Ankara is worried that any further self-rule will might inspire their own Kurds to secede, who make up 10-15% of the population. Peace talks with the PKK that started in 2012 have been strained of late since Turkey has refused to assist the Kurds in the fight for Kobane. But the more the Kurds participate in bashing Islamic State, the more they will ask for in return.
在国际社会抵抗伊斯兰国的斗争中，库尔德人起到核心作用，如果库尔德不能独立，很难对他们争取更多自治权的要求置之不理。长期以来美国声称伊拉克的库尔德地区如果独立，伊拉克就陷入动乱。虽然土耳其和埃尔比勒的伊拉克库尔德人关系更加密切，安卡拉当局担心如果这些人得到更多的自治权可能鼓动自己境内的库尔德人脱离国家（库尔德人占土耳其人口的10~15%）。因为土耳其拒绝援助在科巴尼战斗的库尔德人，政府和库尔德工人党自2012年开启的和平谈判最近很紧张。参与打击伊斯兰国的库尔德人越多，他们提出的报酬就越多。
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