“太丢人了”：美国再次抛弃库尔德人——这次，特朗普还侮辱了他们
‘It’s a disgrace’: the US has abandoned the Kurds again…
The US president is trying to shift the blame for his failures in Iran – and the Kurds are an easy scapegoat.
美国总统正试图转移他在伊朗的失败责任——而库尔德人成了容易的替罪羊。
The United States and Iran are preparing to finalise a peace deal that would end their war – at least for the time being – as well as Israel’s bombing of Lebanon.
美国和伊朗正在准备敲定一项和平协议，该协议将结束两国之间的战争——至少暂时地——以及以色列对黎巴嫩的轰炸。
Many key details remain to be negotiated, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Another issue that remains uncertain – how the deal will impact the Kurdish minority in northern Iran.
许多关键细节仍有待谈判，包括伊朗核计划的未来。另一个不确定的问题是：这项协议将如何影响伊朗北部的一个库尔德族少数民族群体。
The United States and Israel have failed to achieve the main goal of their war: overthrowing the Islamic regime in Tehran. US President Donald Trump is now under pressure to end the war as quickly as possible – and answer for its failures.
美国和以色列未能实现其战争的主要目标：推翻德黑兰的伊斯兰政权。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普现在面临着尽快结束这场战争，并为其失败负责的压力。
Instead, in recent days, he has reiterated an allegation the US sent weapons to the Kurds in the early days of the war to help overthrow the regime. Trump claims the Kurds kept the weapons for themselves.
相反，最近几天他重申了美国的指控，即美方在战争初期向库尔德人提供了武器，以帮助推翻该政权。特朗普声称库尔德人将这些武器留给了自己。
The Kurds let us down […] I think it’s a disgrace, but I’ll remember that, Kurds.
库尔德人让我们失望了……我认为这是一种耻辱，但库尔德人，我会记住这一点。
For the Kurds, this is not surprising. This kind of rhetoric follows a historical trend. Washington has long promised the Kurds support in exchange for their help in Syria and Iraq, only to abandon them later.
对于库尔德人来说，这并不令人意外。这种言辞遵循着历史趋势。华盛顿长期以来曾承诺支持库尔德人，以换取他们在叙利亚和伊拉克提供的帮助，结果却最终抛弃了他们。
Who are the Kurds?
科德人是谁？
The Kurds are the world’s largest ethnic group without sovereignty over their own land.
科德人是世界上没有对自己土地主权的最大族群。
The estimated population of 35-45 million (or higher) is divided among four countries – Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey – a legacy of the Sykes-Picot Agreement that carved up the Ottoman Empire in 1916.
据估计，这群人口在3500万至4500万人（甚至更多），分散在伊朗、伊拉克、叙利亚和土耳其四个国家——这是1916年《 Sykes-Picot 协议》瓜分奥斯曼帝国留下的遗留问题。
In Iran, their population is estimated at between 7-15 million people – one of the country’s largest minority groups. They have long posed a threat to the Iranian regime, with opposition groups having taken up arms and setting up bases in neighbouring Iraq.
在伊朗，他们的人口估计在700万至1500万人之间——这是该国最大的少数族群之一。他们长期以来对伊朗政权构成威胁，反对派团体已武装起来并在邻国的伊拉克建立了基地。
Before the US-Israel-Iran war broke out, six of the opposition groups formed a coalition aimed at ousting the Islamic regime.
在美国、以色列和伊朗战争爆发之前，六个反对派团体组建了一个旨在推翻伊斯兰政权的联盟。
Their potential role, then, in the future of the region’s political landscape cannot be ignored.
因此，他们在该地区政治格局未来的潜在作用不容忽视。
Were US weapons going to the Kurds?
美国武器是否会流向库尔德人？
In early March, CNN reported the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was working to arm the Kurds in Iran to lead a popular uprising against the regime.
3月初，CNN报道称中央情报局（CIA）正在努力武装伊朗的库尔德人，以领导一场反对政权的民众起义。
However, Kurdish parties claimed the US had not engaged with them directly, continuing a long-running lack of support for their cause. Trump himself also poured cold water on the plan. This issue is quite sensitive regionally, as any plan to arm Kurds would be opposed by the US’ ally, Turkey.
然而，库尔德党派声称美国并未直接与他们接触，持续缺乏对他们事业的支持。特朗普本人也给这个计划泼了冷水。这个问题在地区上相当敏感，因为任何武装库尔德人的计划都会遭到美国的盟友土耳其的反对。
Months later, though, Trump publicly accused the Kurds of seizing weapons his administration sent to protesters opposing Iran. He said:
然而几个月后，特朗普公开指责库尔德人抢走了他政府送给抗议伊朗人群体的武器。他说：
Yes, the Kurds are tough fighters, but they have endless demands. The Kurds take, take, take.
“是的，库尔德人是顽强的战士，但他们的要求是无穷无尽的。库尔德人总是索取、索取、索取。”
The Kurdistan regional government in Iraq categorically denied receiving any weapons from the US, as did Iranian Kurdish parties. In fact, they expressed surprise at Trump’s seemingly irresponsible remarks.
伊拉克库尔德斯坦政府以及伊朗的库尔德党派都坚决否认从美国接收过任何武器。事实上，他们对特朗普看似不负责任的言论表示惊讶。
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempted to contain the situation, explaining Trump’s comments were a general expression of support for the Iranian people and not a confirmation of any secret arms deals.
美国国务卿马可·卢比奥试图平息局势，解释说特朗普的评论只是对伊朗人民普遍支持的表达，而不是确认任何秘密军火交易。
But late last week, Trump made the accusation again in an interview with Fox News, saying he had “disagreed” with the US plan to send weapons to the Kurds in the first place.
但上周晚些时候，特朗普在接受福克斯新闻采访时再次提出了这一指控，说他从一开始就“不同意”美国向库尔德人发送武器的计划。
So, the question remains: did the US and Kurds have a secret plan, and if so, what happened?
因此，问题仍然存在：美国和库尔德人是否有一个秘密计划？如果是，发生了什么？
One possible answer, according to a former Israeli intelligence chief, is that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talked Trump out of it, due to Turkey’s fears of a future independent Kurdish state in the region.
根据一位前以色列情报官员的说法，一个可能的答案是，由于土耳其担心该地区未来出现独立的库尔德国家，土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安说服特朗普放弃了这一计划。
A history of abandonment
被遗弃的历史
Henry Kissinger once said, “politics is not charity”. The quote perfectly encapsulates the way the US has historically treated the Kurds.
亨利·基辛格曾说：“政治不是慈善。” 这句话完美地概括了美国历史上对待库尔德人的方式。
The Kurds have learned the US – or any power, for that matter – isn’t to be trusted, because politics is inherently unpredictable, with nations often acting in their own interests. Several moments in history illustrate this:
库尔德人已经明白，美国——或者任何大国——都是不可信的，因为政治本质上是不可预测的，各国往往都以自身利益行事。历史上的几个时刻印证了这一点：
the global silence in 1988 when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against the Kurds, killing thousands
1988年伊拉克独裁者萨达姆·侯赛因对库尔德人使用化学武器，造成数千人死亡时全球的沉默
the indifference the world has shown to the Turkish government’s systematic oppression of the Kurds
世界对土耳其政府系统性压迫库尔德人的漠视
the US abandonment of its commitments to the Kurds in Iraq after the fall of Hussein’s regime in 2003
2003年侯赛因政权垮台后，美国放弃了对伊拉克库尔德人的承诺
the opposition in the West to a Kurdish independence referendum in 2017
2017年西方国家反对举行库尔德人独立公投
Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from Kurdish-controlled Syria in 2019, which enabled Turkey to invade with its forces
2019年特朗普决定撤军离开库尔德人控制的叙利亚，从而使得土耳其得以用武力入侵
and the negative US stance towards Kurdish forces during the Syrian government’s offensive against them this year.
以及今年美国在叙利亚政府对其发动攻势期间对库尔德人的负面立场。
This, along with other similar events, demonstrated, at the very least, an American coldness towards the Kurds.
这些，连同其他类似的事件一起，至少展示了美国对库尔德人的一种冷漠态度。
In short, America’s relations with Turkey, Syria and Iraq matter more than the Kurds. Even countries without Kurdish populations are influencing the US position on the Kurds, as American interests in the region remain key.
简而言之，美国与土耳其、叙利亚和伊拉克的关系比库尔德人更重要。甚至没有库尔德人口的国家也在影响美国在库尔德问题上的立场，因为该地区的美国利益仍然是关键。
In this context, some influential figures in the US government see the Kurds as a force to be used when needed. This has hurt Kurdish pride, which partly explains why they did not join the recent war by the US and Israel against the Iranian regime.
在这种背景下，一些在美国政府中有影响力的人物将库尔德人视为一种可随时利用的工具。这伤害了库尔德人的自尊心，这也部分解释了为什么他们没有加入近期美国和以色列针对伊朗政权的战争。
Setting their own agenda
制定自己的议程
In a phone conversation with me, a Kurdish official (who preferred not to be named) summed up all of this with great displeasure:
在与我的电话交谈中，一位库尔德官员（他要求不透露姓名）对这一切总结道，语气十分不满：
Since 1991, Kurdish parties opposed to Iran have tried to reach out to America without success. Is it wise for the Kurds to fight others’ wars for uncertain rights in a chaotic world where the powerful act freely most of the time?.
自1991年以来，反对伊朗的库尔德政党一直试图与美国建立联系，但均未成功。在一个强权大部分时间可以自由行动、充满混乱的世界里，库尔德人为不确定的权利去参与他人的战争是否明智？
After decades of disappointment, the Kurds are now prioritising their own goals and their push for self-determination.
在经历了数十年的失望之后，库尔德人现在正将重点放在自己的目标和争取自决权上。
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
作者不为任何可能从本文受益的公司或组织工作、提供咨询、拥有股份或接受资金，并且已披露了超出其学术任职之外的任何相关隶属关系。
