War Tourism

>>1196866

does your mom's vagina count?

>>1196866
I went to Chicago last summer and that is the last time I will ever go to the USA.I felt far more free in North Korea (coming from Sweden here).

>>1196866
I live in China.

I have seen army deployments near the Tibetan border.

I missed the Guangzhou railway station attack by a day. Not that it was much of an attack.

>>1196866
Afghanistan and Western China. Traveled mostly overland from Tehran to Shanghai. Flew from Herat to Kabul and then caught a bus up to mazar-e-sharef since I failed to get a Turkmen visa, the two other roads out of Herat had Taliban and banditry on them.

>>1196866
I hitchhiked to Agdam. It's a ghost city in today's Nagorno Karabakh. It used to be populated with Azeris, but they all fled. My ride wanted to drive out of the city just as we were approaching the mosque. It was early in the day and the sun was more than bearable. So without thinking I just told him to stop and I walked. I would walk for hours back to civilization if I had to, I would not miss out on this. I was dumb to do so, in hindsight. Before I reached the mosque, I was stopped by Armenian soldiers. They made me delete all my pictures, but they did show me a cool ass mural.

>>1197053
When was this? Is the road from Kabul to Mazar-e-Sharif safe?
Will Afghan border guards and airport staff give you trouble?

Care to give further details as to how you continued to Shanghai from, I assume, Uzbekistan?

>>1197078
June this year. The road is safe since it's the major north/south link so the government makes sure they have good control of it, but the area surrounding may still have some mines since it was the site for the heaviest fighting between the soviets and the mujahedin.

Almost got through unscathed no problems in initial processing, the guy in charge of the bag checking section was really friendly and told his soldiers to not even bother with our bags, got to the final boom gate and the last guard starts yelling Taliban and grabs us and our driver and drags us back into the checkpoint. We then had to wait it the little building where soldiers take breaks and eventually the friendly dude turns back up and takes us all the way back to passport processing they took us to a side room ask us about what we are doing if we were going to fight and said a lot of people come over from Iran they took our passports and some guy in plain clothes rechecked them, we were then let out of the room and the plain clothes guy re took bio-metrics and re scanned our passports in a regular area. My dad got a visit at home from the terrorism investigators of the state police asking about my presence in Afghanistan but since he had all my itinerary and copies of my documents they were satisfied pretty quickly that i was no threat, he then got an angry call from foreign affairs bitching at him about how dangerous the trip is and how they can't help if I'm kidnapped, my mates parents got the same call but not the police visit, still got no idea where they got our parents info from since they didn't ask and we didn't give any.

Airport staff were more bemused than anything we had stuff we'd picked up in Iran and Herat and a few things from home to give away to people we met, so we did a lot of explaining about that stuff because they were interested in a bored/human way not security threat way, lots of concrete walls to create a labyrinth to the airport proper and bomb/drug dogs.

>>1197128
How long did you stay in Afghanistan? Did you ever feel unsafe, except for the incident you just described? Why didn't you fly from Mazar-e-Sharif to Kabul? What's your nationality? You're American, aren't you?

>>1197078
Yep up to Termez, Uzbek border guards didn't like my beard so me and my mate were both stripped searched, bags emptied and every single pocket in every single piece of clothing checked. Got the train to Samarkand then had some Uzbek friends we had met in Iran give us a lift to Tashkent caught a taxi to the Kyrgyz border which was interesting since the guy was also smuggling gasoline. Taxi into Osh from the border, Osh to Bishkek by mini bus, Bishkek to Karakul by bus, bus back to Bishkek. We then caught the plane to Urumqi since we went for a hike in the mountains which took longer than expected and needed to be in china asap because of previous bookings and my time constraints, but the initial plan was mini bus up to Almaty, Kazakhstan and train to Urumqi. We got trains throughout china, After Urumqi we stopped in Xian, Dong Sheng, so I could do a day trip to Ordos which is famous for being a central planning failure and ghost city, then finally onto Shanghai

>>1197136
Aussie, stayed 8 nights since we had to wait out time so we could enter Uzbekistan since they those visas start on a specific date. Kabul was a bit nerve racking since we arrived at night and the first place we went to wouldn't let us stay because we hadn't pre-booked but we couldn't pre-book since both thier website and email were down and we had used wikitravel to find them, so we spent an hour driving around Kabul trying to find another place in budget to stay. We ended up blowing our budget and stay at some fancy place which the taxi driver had initially suggested and we had seen previously on the web. We where trying to see and do as much by road as possible so flying down to Kabul and catching the bus seemed more interesting plus all the sources we had read said the bus was spectacular was and safe.

>>1196902
>Sweden
>knowing what freedom feels like

>>1197140
>>1197144
Okay man, thanks the replies.

>>1197145
Bin Laden specifically mentioned Sweden when it came to freedom.

>“Contrary to what Bush says and claims — that we hate your freedom. If that were true, then let him explain why did we not attack [for example] Sweden.”

>>1197024
One can browse 4chan like that in China? ._.

>>1197164
Yes but unless you have a vpn you need to buy the pass to get by the captcha (since google is blocked in China)

>>1197164
>>1197216
I can confirm this, lurking went smooth... Then I realized captch belongs to Google.

>>1197164
>>1197216
>>1197228
Yes, you can browse 4chan in China but because everything google is blocked, you need a 4chan gold account to post. No google maps, gmail, or anything google-related. Fortunately I have a gold account so I could post from China. Very few Chinese flags on /int/ for that reason.

>>1196866

My buddy vacations primarily in war zones for some reason. Last year, he went to Jordan, Somalia, Iraq, Tunisia, and Afghanistan. They claim to know it's fucked up and stupid but they can't get enough of it.

>>1196866
Yes. I was in the Marines and sent to Iraq. Specifically, Ramadi, back when Ramadi was on the news every night. With a side of Fallujah and a few other places I went to via convoy. A bird every once in a while

>>1197821
He is probably on some watchlists by now.

>>1197078
I reached the Agdam mosque. It's pretty cool. Then the taxi driver and me were expelled from the place by the military. I kept the pictures though

>>1197821
>Jordan
>Somalia
>Tunisia

>war zone

OT: I would if I had the time/money.
I get 20 days paid leave, rather spend them somewhere more relaxing.

>>1196902
Great

Less filthy tourists there when I come to the greatest country of all time

>>1197147
>quoting Bin Laden to prove your point
kek

>>1196902
ily

I went to Syria to join the YPG in the summer.
I finished the month long training then nope'd out when "FSA"(Turkey) invaded as I didn't really fancy fighting a NATO country and being an enemy combatant for life.

Spent the whole time at a training camp like 6hrs drive from the frontline so didn't actually see any combat or anything.

I got dysentery pretty bad tho (as did many others) and got shot at a bit in training (instructor was shooting over our heads) could hear the zip of the bullet tho which was pretty cool.

>>1196902
>I went to this popular restaurant and sat in the restroom and it smelled like shit! Can you believe that? Never eating there again.

>>1197145
>>1198296
>>1198494
North Korea is far more safe for a tourist than the United States and there are statistics that prove it.

I visited Cairo during revolution.
Kiev during Euromaidan fights.
Stepanakert (capital of Nagorny-Karabakh). One week after they started to shoot, even with dead people.
But I'm Russian and I visited places more dangerous that these three inside Яussia.

>>1198495
I'm sure it is but you'd still be a fool to dismiss an entire nation on what you saw of one city. You're misunderstanding the context of those replies.

>>1198424
are you serious? tell us more please

>>1196866
I went to the place in the OP 2 weeks ago.

>>1198502
Where in Russia?

>>1198424
>hurr let's go join some commie terrorists
>run away when their actual 30yr enemy comes

Stupid and a coward, nice

>>1198297
>not quoting shaykh Osama at every opportunity

>>1198297
Well, it was about Sweden.

But who cares who I quoted. I replied to an ignorant post that was probably just bait. Sweden being a free country is not in question.

>>1198502
Is it safe to Overland to North Ossetia to reach Georgia?

>>1198549
How did you go there? I'm going to Israel pretty soon so just curious.

>>1198738
I went on Birthright, so we were taken there on the tour but it's at Mt Bental. Can see Syria in the distance and Lebanon is over the mountains. Heard gunfire and everything.

>>1198566
>Stupid and a coward, nice

An alive coward, two guys I met there are already dead for no real reason. They (kurds) try to talk it up giving it all the good stuff about fighting ISIS and fighting for freedom etc but they openly said that they have the westerners there purely for propaganda purposes rather than for military ones.

That said the people I met out there were all really friendly, kurd and westerners alike and the general atmosphere was fun.

I actually said to them I'd happily stay in-country if I could transfer to doing civil work (got an engineering degree, so could do some decent stuff out there) but they didn't want to know.

Still if nothing else I carried in a shitload of medical supplies which I then gave out to everyone, along with a load of other military gear, AK zeroing tools etc. So worst case scenario is that I was a mule carrying in kit that is impossible to find in-country.

>>1197147

>sweden
>not already invaded

>>1199196
Assuming it's true, that sounds pretty cool, do you have any pics?

I've heard the YPG now only wants skilled volunteers (doctors, engineers...) so I don't know

>>1199196
Wow that sounds pretty interesting indeed. How did you get into there? Do they actually recruit people or do you have to have contacts?
I always imagined going there as sort of my ultimate exit strategy if something major happens here and I need to leave for whatever reason, but havent actually put any thought into it.

How did they react when you said you didnt want to fight turkey? Were they cool with it? How many other westerners were there?
Was there any form of payment or just food, shelter and the experience?

Also does anyone know the actual repercussions for a westerner from a nato country to fight turkey as part of the (not officially recognized as terrorist organization) YPG?

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Not sure if it counts but back in 2011 I was in Crete, staying in a hotel near an (I think American) airbase during the civil war in Libya and every few hours planes would fly off to bomb the shit out of Quadhafi. Also witnessed the bombing in Sultanahmhet square in Istanbul last year in january.

Israel during the Gaza offensive. Had a hotel in an Arab quarter and stayed a while in the south, so I experienced both riots and rocket strikes. It was honestly pretty cool though since all tourists but the chinks have cancelled their trips and there were no crowds at all. Also been to the border in the OP.

>>1199238

No pics sadly, coming back I sanitised all my devices in case I got searched by the peshmerga. Any evidence of being in Syria, and hence crossed the border illegally, and your ass goes straight to jail. When I came back I'd given away all my syrian money and med supplies and fighting gear. Basically came back with the clothes on my back, phone and tablet and toiletry bag. I think I had one spare t-shirt and spare socks.

>>1199283

To be completely honest.... don't. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Within a few days of arriving I was like "oh shit, well I really drank the kool aid on this one....". I naively swallowed all their media campaign hook line and sinker.

The only reason the kurds haven't lost is the allied air power. I got to talk to several guys coming back from Manbij and they all said ISIS are way better trained and equipped than YPG.

But, more than anything else, once you are over there you are completely reliant on so many things outside your control. There is no international airport in Rojava, so you have to go to Iraqi-kurdistan and illegally cross the border at night. This infiltration requires the new moon period and a bit of luck not to get caught by peshmerga patrols: get caught go to prison. The border is apparently mined too, so even trying to chance it alone without the people-smugglers and you will likely just lose a foot out in the middle of nowhere.

cont....

>>1199297
>>1199196
Hey now you admitted you drank the kool aid and their propaganda, I will retract my comment

You are not stupid and there is nothing cowardly about abandoning a 'cause' that isn't actually one

>>1199297

carrying on.....

So I'm not saying don't go play war, by all means I haven't written off the idea; but a critical condition for me is there has to be an airport in the country you are fighting in. Assuming you aren't a death-wise nutjob you need a viable workable exit strategy - there isn't one in Rojava. I count myself as extremely lucky to make it out in once piece without going to jail or losing body parts. Several people I know from there have recently spend time in Iraqi jail from getting caught on way back over.

Well they first tried to say I couldn't leave, which I think was just a shit-test, but once I was firm they agreed that they would get me back to Erbil in Iraqi-Kurdistan and then I would be on my own. Usually once you serve out your 6 months they will pay off the your massively overstayed visa and pay for your flight home. I paid my own visa fees and flight home and that was that. Luckily I was only 12 days overstayed, beyong 14 days overstay it goes from "pay a fine then fuck off" to "you're doing a spell in jail son".

You supposedly get 100 USD per month wages, which is standard in the YPG apparently. Just before leaving the training camp commander slipped me $200 and said it was to sort out any "problems" if I got stopped at checkpoints etc. I didn't have any trouble at pesh checkpoints so that 200 bucks went towards payying off my overstay fine.

>>1199300
>You are not stupid and there is nothing cowardly about abandoning a 'cause' that isn't actually one

Why thank you sir, how very civilised by 4chan standards.

The 3 main types of personality out there are:

>fuckups - people like myself who make bad life choices
>true believers - full on commie-tier who's leftist wank fantasy glosses over how shit it is
>grizzled ex soldiers who have seen it all before and are just here to slot people

Apparently lots of normal non-insane ex-soldiers come out then promptly leave when they realise how fucking crazy it is. A few of the guys in my training intake with prior exp were like "man afghanistan was a walk in the park compared to this place".

I think what I also really didn't take into consideration is that by joining the YPG you are not just fighting ISIS you are joining the syrian civil war, as mixed up and disjointed as that is. You might get send to fight Assad, you might get sent to fight FSA etc etc it's just one big messed up situation.

If you wanna go fight ISIS go join the pesh. You will get a proper Iraqi-kurdistan residence card so no visa issues, there is only one enemy ISIS (for now at least), there are functioning airports to take you home, and the pesh will treat you far, far better than the YPG ever will.

>>1199302
Thanks for all the info!

I know of an NGO called "Waffen für Rojava" (Weapons for Rojava) here in germany that is trying to get support for the YPG in a legal way by trying to get guns and humanitarian aid into there.
They had a program that was about finding volunteers to do firefighting and the likes in Rojava, but its probably just a cover for people looking to join the military I would think.
That might be a way to get into there without too much trouble and also be able to get out afterwards legally, since you are officially a hero.

How long is the training? Could you realistically take a semester long break from Uni and go train and fight a bit and then leave again? Or should I finish my study so I can actually be an engineer and be usefull to them?
Honsetly my motivation for the entire thing is pretty much the same as the one that makes me go to other unstable or dangerous countries: boredom and lack of excitement.
I know it sounds terribly edgy to want to go to war for shits and giggles, but that seems to be how I feel right now...

>>1199308
Also in regards to Peshmerga:
Have you talked to them as well? As far as I know they are really just a US proxy army used to keep the Iraqi government in check should they stray further towards russia.
As little as I really care about this stuff, I do have some ideals, and one of them is to not become a soldier for NATO geopolitical interests. If I wanted that I could just join any western military, get paid waay more and be a huge lot safer.
PKK and YPG do have the advantage that they sort of justify their fighting by going against conservative Islam.

>>1199313
>I know it sounds terribly edgy to want to go to war for shits and giggles, but that seems to be how I feel right now...

I know that feel bro, as indeed I felt it firsthand myself. For me tho that wasn't enough to keep me there, this is one area where the "true believers" actually have the advantage. Misguided they are but they have an actual driving behind them forward.

I went there for funsies and it all seemed fine, then you've had dysentery for 3 weeks and lost most of your muscle mass. You have days where you are shitting so much you feel light-headed from dehydration and the only thing you can do is boil up some water, add sugar/salt and sip it until you rehydrate.

It weighed a skinny-ish (I'm 2m tall) 100kg going out and came back jew-mode at 80kg. Despite being "training" my physical condition massively deteriorated during my time there, through sickness and poor nutrition (food is mostly carbs and very low in protein), and this is well behind the lines where food supplies are regular and consistent.

What I'm getting at is that the conditions are incredibly shit, diesease and sickness are rife and this is at a training camp miles from the front. The YPG don't care either. At one point almost everyone on camp had bad diarrehea with about 5 out of 15 (myself included) full-blown shitting-blood dysentery. Any normal person would say "hey there is obviously a hygiene/sanitation issue here that needs to be addressed", the response from the instructor was "this is the middle east, everyone get sick here".

Go get your degree finished first man, like I said leaving the place is completely beyond your control. You might do your 6 months and say you want out, but then the moon cycle is bad so you have to wait a month, or maybe the KRG (iraqi-kurdistan) are really stepping up their patrols so the smugglers have to go lay low for a bit. So the idea of getting back in time for a given date... forget about it.

will continue

>>1199334

cont

A guy I know left similar time as me and was too late to go back to uni, so now he has to work a shit job all year before he can pick it back up next september.

Regarding Pesh, you need 4 years military service before they will take you on. Even then I think they are starting to think twice about taking furrnurrs due to the various useless fucks that have joined up with them.

Two guys who were in my training intake had done a few months with pesh before coming to Rojava and said conditions were much better, the iraqi kurds were really grateful that they were there, drinking a beer off-duty was no problem etc, you could wear a wifebeater on base yaddah yaddah.

In YPG you must be fully clothed at all times, even when sleeping. You can't wear short-sleeved tops, sleeves can be rolled up tho.

Due to the YPJ (female wing) they seem terrified of the possibility of sexual relations between men and women. We literally got told "if you wash too much, people will see you as trying to attract the girls, this is bad".

A fun storytime

>I'm one of the only guys to bring water out on the training area
>obviously don't mind sharing but barely have any for myself
>remind everyone back in the classroom to make sure they stay on top of their hydration
>instructor comments "actually heval, it is better to train yourself to not need water"
>this nigga is telling me that when running around innadesert at 44C, you don't need water.....

There are a few good things tho actually: like at the end of every activity you have a "tekmil" which is like a debrief. At this point anyone has the chance to comment on what just happened and how it can be improved for next time. This is actually pretty cool and they did take a few comments on board to be fair with them.

>>1199336
>Due to the YPJ (female wing) they seem terrified of the possibility of sexual relations between men and women. We literally got told "if you wash too much, people will see you as trying to attract the girls, this is bad".
Is this because of Islam or actually because of political correctness? I really thought the latter was a meme all the way through and had nothing to do with actual marxists like PKK/YPG, but I also thought they would be secular enough to have no problems.

4 years of serious military service is actually not in any way an option for me. But I guess if I do finish my studies they could take me just based on that.

In regards to the diseases: do you get sick back home? I usually never get sick no matter where I am, what I eat and drink or how hygenic I live. Not sure if Ive been to anywhere comparable though.

The water thing seems completely retarded. Do they actually not have a lot of water or do they actually think its smart to train yourself to "not need as much"?
I lived in a nomad camp in the sahara for a week working and the people there drank loads of water every day and were absolutely aware of the consequences if they didnt.

Tekmil sounds like a great idea and like they actually try to not structure their military from top to bottom. How is dissent or disobedience in general treated? Like if your commander told you to do something stupid would there be room to convince him otherwise or would that have to wait until Tekmil?

>>1199342

They are secular, it's more that they don't want loads of their female soldiers sprouting little babbers. Pregger soldiers tend not to be so soldierey. It's to the degree where all YPG/YPJ are meant to take an oath of celibacy and especially if the girls got caught they would be send to the mountains to a re-education camp. Guys would just get locked in the brig for a bit I think.

In terms of sickness. I don't get sick at home or ever travelling. I'm one of those iron stomach guys who can eat/drink all kinds of sketchy stuff but is fine, but man that place did a number on me.

I need to go hardware store before they close, when I get back I will greentext the water situation.

>>1199344
Well seems like pretty though, nothing like the videos we saw on the Internet, I can somehow imagine the condition you have might have since basically you're enrolled in a militia not in a professional army.
However what would be some positive experiences you lived there? And what is your opinion on the Syrian civil war and the YPG (I know it's not /trv/ related but I'm curious how this experience changed your views)?
Did you learn local langages and make good local friends? Would you consider returning there after the war or at least when it's more or less pacified?

>>1199398

Some funny stuff

Cows
>our compound has rusty posts but no wire fencing
>local cows come in occaisonally to try and eat our garden
>heval Roj takes it upon himself to see them off
>whenever the cows come he runs at them scream like a madmad
>throwing rocks and shaking a stick
>once a cow gets close and he just throws his training AK (no bolts in - toys essentially) at this cow
>good effect on target
>cattle in full retreat

Fire

>we have to try to sneak up to a "enemy base" and throw grenades (rocks) into the MG nest
>split into two teams
>I'm in the 3 man "observation and diversion" team
>we creep down into view of the "enemy" (our instructor)
>if he sees us he will shoot at us - aiming off
>we need to cross a valley to other side, 200m with a big washed out gulley in the middle
>GO GO GO
>sprint across field and dive into gulley
>crawling thru gulley, he starts to shoot
>hearing the zips over our heads, but we are down in the trench so safe
>gulley full of dried up vegetation
>"hey lets make a smoke diversion"
>light grass on fire and continue to other side of valley
>look back 5 mins later
>whole gulley is on fire and spilling out onto field
>wewlad.jpg
>countour round the hill and keep closing in on blind side of slope
>whole field is now alight
>finally call endex
>by now the entire valley (crop stubble) is on fire
>mfw we burn about 45 acres of syrian desert to the ground
>mfw burning actually improves it as now when we hit the deck it is just ashes and not thistles and thorn spikes errywhere

>>1199398
>Did you learn local langages and make good local friends?

We didn't really meet many kurds. Our instructors were western, only kurd on camp was the commandant. Half our education time was language tho so they did press that pretty hard.


Would you consider returning there after the war or at least when it's more or less pacified?

Rojava is a hellhole, flat plains with no trees, just hot dusty soil, so after the wheat crop its basically desert. Theres a bit of oil extraction too, so on the hot nights you could smell the crude smell on the wind. No real desire to return.

Iraqi-kurdistan however if gorgeous once you get to the mountains. Very similar to the mountains of spain/portugal but on an epic-er scale. Mountains covered in trees, massive valleys with rivers, wild grapes growing everywhere etc. I would absolutely like to return to Kurdistan and especially get out into the countryside and go hiking in the mountains, I actually feel a bit cheated that I never got to see Kurdistan as a genuine tourist, it looks like a really interesting place. Even the cities are funny as it is a blend of supermodern but also 3rd world at the same time. eg:

>main strip in sulaymaniyah
>brand new shopping mall just opened
>selling luxury goods and items
>spotlessly clean, air-con etc etc the works
>modern LED spotlights outside on the pavement to light up mall exterior at night
>LED spotlight is powered by some ragged-ass cable lazily running across the pavement rather than buried in a conduit
>I liked the juxtaposition of good and shit, it was pretty fun and it felt totally safe all the time

I've felt sketchier walking in London than I have going around Sulay. Random guys on the street will insist on buying you food too and saying it is "hospitality to foreign people who come here", the people I talked to on the street seemed to genuinely be happy that westerners were visiting Kurdistan.

>>1199447
Damn, I was in the Turkish kurdistan recently and I actually considered in paying a visit to the Iraqi kurdistan but I dropped it since I didn't to cross all over the cross the şirnak and Hakkari province. I regret not having more time and balls for visiting the region since it was extremely interesting both culturally and politically. I even missed the opportunity of visiting Nusaybin with some guys in a solidarity network (probably considered terrorists by the Turkish government)
I'll definitely wanna go back when it's possible.
I can say the same about Turkish kurdistan in terms of security, I never felt unsafe except when the police was around, people is generally really nice, I even got lost in the ghetto in Diyarbakir and this drug addict looking guy showed me the way to the main Avenue

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>>1198424
Thoughts on Hezbollah and joining them?

It's something I'm legitimately considering.

The war is winding down and it's gonna be soon or never.

Only interested in fighting (what's left of) ISIS.

>>1199459
you fucking idiot, hezbollah is a jihadist terrorist organization, if you join it you're a criminal and should be hanged

>>1199308
If I were to join anything, I'd want it to be legitimate, and my main problem with joining a group like the YPG, like you said is that they're commies and they fight Assad and Turkey. I know Pesh is more encouraged, but don't they only take combat vets? Would they take a vet if he was just a ground job, but had done a couple of deployments and convoy duty?

Just curious, this stuff is fascinating to me. I want to see Rojava's independence, but they're doing it a little crazy at times.

>>1199526
>Would they take a vet if he was just a ground job, but had done a couple of deployments and convoy duty?

Afaik you can be a military postman or chef for 4 years and they will take you on, it's not about the actual role you did, just that you had military exp.

That said, who knows what they are like right now. I heard that they have been tightening things up lately.

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>>1199509
Shhhh, grown ups are talking.

>>1199459
http://www.ibtimes.com/christian-sunni-shia-meet-hezbollahs-non-denominational-military-branch-defending-2169257

For you. Doubt they accept non-Lebanese though.

>>1199563
Pretty cool, just a reminder to vets thinking of this, I hear that you need to wait 7 years or you'll lose your benefits fighting for a foreign military.

Also, I know I'm supposed to keep /pol/ on /pol/ but how are things between Iraqi Kurdistan and Syrian Kurdistan? Do you see a day in the near future where eastern Kurds open the borders with Syria? I know the YPG is much more extreme than Pesh, but I figured Kurds would have eachothers backs. If not, can you see Peshmerga actually taking steps to remove the YPG problems?

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>>1199731
Not the YPG guy, but imo what it's happening in Kurdistan is a conflict for the leadership of the Kurdish national cause.
It's not about the Pesh/KRG being extreme (they are not at all); It's all about the PKK, this party since it shifted from an old school maoism to a brand new "communalism" (the democratic confederalism) has created instruments for actually articulating a revolutionary political movement separated of the military structure, the KcK; which can discuss the legitimacy of the KRG for leading the process.
the KRG and the PKK don't have a good relationship, can be seen clearly just on reading any of the articles by Rudaw, this tensions I guess have grown in the last years:

Pre-2012
>stable KRG in front of a ruined Irak
>""decadent"" PKK (bad image by the public opinion)
>Peace process between the AKP government in turkey and the PKK and Turkish Government acceptance of Kurdish culture

Post-2012
>ISIS and the whole Syrian mess
>Military success of the Kurds in Rojava
>Military success of the KRG
>End of the Ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK
>Violation of Human rights in turkey
>Kurdish issue gets the (positive) attention of the Media
>KRG is heading towards a political (is Barzani a dictator) and economical (collapse of the economy) crisis

I'm sorry for my english, I'm not very good at it and wrote it fast.
Also I'm sorry for the /pol/ talk

>>1199762
>sorry for the problem

No problem, I'm just excited at the possibility of Rojava becoming a viable region or country in the next few years. Maybe a few years from now I can legally visit them and buy some of the old vets a beer. Iraq seems very diplomatic, but Rojava and the YPS now in Turkey (not that I support YPS or PKK) seem fiery and passionate, but might turn out bad. I feel that they can stick it out and hold some land, but also afraid Turkey and KRG might crush them, or they could end up having a coup and crushing themselves. There's too many cards on the table.

>>1199856
Never going to happen, every regional power opposes then. Assad, Syrian opposition, IS, Turkey and the KRG.

When they aren't needed for fighting IS the US will drop them and their ridiculous entity will disappear as fast as it appeared.

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>>1196878

>>1199924
Well Russia presented a very basic document trying to approach the SDF and the Government
www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/originals/2016/10/turkey-russia-mediates-between-kurds-and-assad.amp.html
Must be said the press has a really good opinion about the SDF because womyn and because they didn't really do nothing bad.
We'll see if Syria becomes a federal system and we'll see a semi independent Rojava like the KRG.
Sadly, I'm afraid that even if the war ends soon (maybe 1, 2 years until the government takes defeats the different factions), we won't be able to visit the country in a long time.. At least outside the urban secured areas, like in Algeria.
>tfw Syria will be a mess for the next 20 years

>>1198495
I hope that is safer than America North Korea is totalitarian. A totalitarian regime that can't keep tourist safe is a failure.

>>1198495
>naive social welfare babbypeans can't handle the great frontier
l m a o

>>1196866

Yeah, traveleld Afghanistan back in 2011. Was fun. Did an AMA here that got archived on ...4chanarchive, I think?

>>1196866
I visited Detroit and a German city near a rapefugee nest. I don't recommend it, seriously.

>>1198566
YPG hasn't been Commie for decades, retard. Read some history before you post.

>>1201668
Story about what happened in germany? Id be really interested!

>>1196866
Not really in warzone, but I was in Ethiopia.

Our tourist convoy travelled in jeeps when ethopians attacked us with an AK. They took our money, mobiles, cameras, passports.. The ethiopian driver in the first jeep (not in ours) wanted to talk with them so they shot hm.

>>1198424
I actually have a friend who visited Syria when he was a teen cause his dad worked there briefly, this was like 10 years ago (only a couple years before the war started), and he'd been to Damascus, Aleppo, Raqqa, Palmyra, Idlib, all those places. He says it's so surreal seeing those places on the news bombed out and destroyed, or seeing it in ISIS propaganda vids, when he had been all there

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>>1196866

not a warzone, but I did visit cuba just to be edgy. Paris and those other places are overdone, and I wanted something crazy on my travel resume.

>>1196866
the middle east, but it was boring as fuck. Still better than getting shot at though

>>1196902

Well you went to one of our absolute worst cities.

Mexico can be heaven or hell depending on where you are.

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>>1202718
>Cuba... an edgy and crazy destination they say

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>>1202718
>>1202826

pretty much this, but when people hear cuba specially the older folks they're like "but why travel there; they're a bunch of commies".

>>1197821
Don't exaggerate. Jordan and Tunisia aren't warzones by any stretch of the imagination, and Somalia and Iraq have Somaliland and Kurdistan which are exceptionally safe and stable. I assume he didn't go to Mosul or Mogadishu.

>>1197147
because sweden isnt free