Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–July 31, 2014. As centralized political power continues to erode in Iraq and Syria amid ongoing civil war and the rise of violent jihadi groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, the influence of Kurdish political and military actors in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria will only grow in importance. These Kurdish groups have, separately, maintained governance in northern Iraq and carved out autonomous enclaves in northern Syria that are increasingly seen as an important bulwark against the spread of groups such as ISIS.
