They were far, far away from the capitol. I'm not even sure the veracity of any of the reporting about the Kurds. It looks like a red herring meanwhile we're doing exactly what every regime since 1979 has done -endless useless talks. Feckless.
What was the contingency for Kurd failure? Peace talks?
Do we know the Kurds failed? We don't even know what they're supposed to do or when. Were they told to stand down?