The US has a long history of “using” the Kurds and then pulling the plug on them. The West did it to them after WWI. Kissinger did it in 1975 once we didn’t need them. After the first Gulf War we did it to them again. The challenge is that the Kurds live in four different countries, none of which are excited about a large independent Kurdish state.
There is no precedent in diplomatic history for the whole world closing ranks against the aspirations of a small people, let alone one that has governed itself admirably amidst regional chaos for the past generation. On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to warn of “potentially destabilizing effects” of the independence vote. Turkey’s parliament Sept. 23 renewed a mandate for the Turkish army to invade Syria and Iraq, and Ankara’s defense minister warned that the vote could collapse a “structure built on sensitive and fragile balances.” The White House warned, Sept. 15 that “the referendum is distracting from efforts to defeat [the Islamic State] and stabilize the liberated areas.” Read more here.