100 Iraqi Kurdish fighters are flying into Turkey today to cross the border into Syria in order to help out some Syrian Kurds who are defending the town of Kobane from ISIS….but Turkey ain’t none too happy about this. Say what? Why would Turkey not want to help defeat the extremist IS group? Because over the long term, they are more concerned with Kurds than with the crazies! Confused? Then dig this podcast and get a Kurdish clue!
In this second podcast on the rise of ISIS, the Professor points out a variety of repercussions (to the region and the world) from the declaration of an Islamic State by the radical group that has been destabilizing SYria and Iraq. Some of the ripples in the pond caused by this ISIS rock include: re-thinking rebel/Assad support in Syria; an independent Kurdish state; a large Sunni-Shia schism; and most importantly, a possible thaw in relations between the US and Iran, and Iran and the Arab states.
Keywords: Iraq, Iran, ISIS, IS, Islamic State, Islam, Sunni, Shia, Shiite, Wahhabism, Ira-Iraq War, Saddam Hussein, Syria, Arab, Persian, Persian Gulf, oil, Saudi Arabia, US, Russia, Kurds, Kurdish, Kurdistan
A radical fringe Islamic group names ISIS is fighting to establish a extremist Islamic state in Iraq and Syria…and beyond. They control eastern Syria, western Iraq, just took control of Iraq’s 2nd biggest city of Mosul, and are advancing on the capital Bagdad! What the hell is going on here? Iraq is collapsing? Predictably, yes. In this rant the Professor outlines just a few of the contributing factors to why this significant event is taking place, the geographic/historic background of the state, and the consequences for the future of the region…and why it is the British’s fault.
From the northwestern fringe of the great Sahara Desert: the Professor podcasts about this physical geographic force as a divider of Africa, as a birthplace of the Berbers, and as the king of the hot deserts From the Magreb to the Sahel, this gigantic dry entity has been the home to classic civilizations, trade routes, Islamic religion, and more deviant devils. Learn more about the largest hot desert on the planet in this particular podcast! (And do note: whenever I start radically waving my arms around, it’s not because I am a spazo (which I am) but more because a ate about 10 Saharan sand flies during this rant. Nasty little buggers were dive-bombing my head!)
Greetings from the heart of Morocco, way up high in the High Atlas Mountains! A podcast on mountains, rain, and Berbers, from the roadside of the most perilous Tizi n’ Tchika Pass! Although you can’t tell from the vid, I am standing behind the 1-foot high “guard rail,” on the edge of a 3000 foot drop off…which is standard operating procedure on this incredible high altitude road of risk!
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