I had been occupied reporting on the war in Ukraine sparing with Russian propagandists when the dire plight of the mostly Kurdish force in Kobane in September 2014 drew me to it. A disciplined guerilla force in mostly urban combat against a heavier gunned horde of psychos. The YPG and the YPJ all women Civil Defense Units on the front lines in close quarters firefights. They were willing to fight but to have any chance they needed US air support.
This was the first report I recall that we were going to start air operations in Syria. It wasn’t all that clear where they would focus.
Nothing happened and the situation got even more desperate. What I suspected then and now I believe I can prove is that Turkey was working with ISIS. They were just waiting, blocking Kurds access to resupply while Turkey armed and supplied ISIS. These are my posts the morning of Sept 26, 2014. It was evening on the 26th in Kobane.
Then approximately 12 hours later the US air campaign began:
The air support helped but was not enough. Plus it was obvious to me by then that Turkey was actively helping ISIS.
Completely cut off in the North by Turkey and surrounded on three sides in Syria by ISIS even with the US bombing the Kurdish forces were running out of ammunition. It was a desperate time.
There were many calls for an airdrop. In discussion with Kurdish accounts someone suggested I ask for JPADS. I wasn’t really familiar with them. They’re guided parachute drops. So I started begging @CENTCOM on October 12.
I was polite but persistent.
I haven’t been able to locate a post of news that we made the air drops but I think is was October 15 or 16. It was just in the nick of time.
The images from Kobane then were deeply moving. I’m proud of what we did. I just wish we had started earlier and saved the Yazidis.
TimInHonolulu 