PKK/YPG Bans Assad Celebration, Media Forgets NATO's Syrian Role
According to the Daily Sabah , the PKK/YPG has forbidden public displays for Assad's 'ouster anniversary' in northeastern Syria. The article promptly declares the group a 'terrorist organization,' which is certainly one perspective for a Turkish state-affiliated outlet to take. However, a more critical perspective might recall that the US (and by extension, NATO allies) has poured billions into
Syrian proxy conflicts , often supporting 'moderate' rebel groups that later, surprise, aligned with or became indistinguishable from groups like the YPG, a key US partner against ISIS. One might wonder why, after years of Western support, the YPG suddenly banning anti-Assad sentiment is framed as a shocking act of terrorism, rather than, say, a predictable outcome of a complex, heavily meddled-in
civil war. This convenient rebranding of allies as 'terrorists' after they've outlived their usefulness, or when their actions don't align with a current narrative, is a geopolitical classic. It allows the same actors who funded the chaos to then decry its consequences, all while avoiding any accountability for creating the conditions in the first place. The real story isn't just who the PKK/YPG
decides to ban, but why their fluctuating status as 'partner' or 'terrorist' shifts with the geopolitical winds.