Presumably the US is selling/arming Kurds that are rebelling against the regime, too. This was one of the emails released yesterday, though it is dated 2014:

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/43648#efmAtVAz1

>> On Aug 17, 2014 3:50 PM, "H" <[email protected]> wrote:

>>> 3. In the past the USG, in an agreement with the Turkish General Staff,

>>> did not provide such heavy weapons to the Peshmerga, out of a concern that

>>> they would end up in the hands of Kurdish rebels inside of Turkey. The

>>> current situation in Iraq, not to mention the political environment in

>>> Turkey, makes this policy obsolete. Also this equipment can now be

>>> airlifted directly into the KRG zone.

Point 5. is missing from that email, for whatever reason.

The KRG, despite being Kurds, are besties with the Turkish government (a pipeline going out of Iraqi Kurdistan exports oil through Turkey), and rather at loggerheads with the PKK (Kurdish rebels in Turkey), so there's little chance of the weapons passing from the KRG to the PKK.

This is good context, thanks.

Well, they're in NATO and the crucial barrier between the "West" on one side and Syria & Russia on the other.

yeah ,keep going keeping in mind , what were you doing with weapons at afghanistan , iraq , vietnam ? spreading democracy ?