Al-Sharaa checkmates the SDF and Washington still wins |
Recent fighting between the Syrian military and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish-led group controlling most of northeastern Syria, ended with the government significantly expanding the territory under its control, particularly in Arab-majority areas. Long the SDF’s primary patron, Washington brokered a ceasefire but sided with Damascus in declaring that the time had come for the SDF to reintegrate into the new Syrian state. This stunning pivot has been long in the making, especially since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
US support for the SDF was always problematic and ultimately destined to end. During my time working on the Syria file at the State Department, I joined several officials in warning the Obama administration that backing the SDF was a strategic mistake that would prolong the conflict and deepen sectarian tensions.
It would have been wiser — though more difficult — to address the root causes that enabled the rise of ISIL (ISIS): al-Assad’s repression of his people and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s sectarian policies. Instead, Washington risked fracturing Syria and undermining its ties with Turkiye.
The SDF was dominated by hardline Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) elements that were actively fighting Turkiye, a critical NATO ally. The group was also deeply at odds with the rest of the Syrian opposition and with most Kurdish factions in Syria and Iraq. We argued that whether al-Assad or the opposition ultimately........