The US-SDF partnership originally began with US efforts to combat the Islamic State in Syria before Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s overthrow of the Assad regime and assumption of power in late 2024. The report of the potential withdrawal comes as near-constant clashes between the Syrian government forces and the SDF damage efforts to integrate the two forces.
The clashes and US military proximity are further complicated by US President Donald Trump’s positive relationship with al-Sharaa, who has led moves aimed at integrating the SDF and Kurdish Syrians into greater Syrian society. Earlier in the week, Syrian government forces seized control of SDF-run prisons holding thousands of Islamic State terrorists, leading to the US initiating operations to move the prisoners out of Syria to Iraq. According to three US officials who spoke to WSJ, the Syrian army’s seizure of the prisons and other previously SDF-controlled swathes of territory has led to the US questioning “the viability of the American military’s mission in Syria.” (Ed note: Remember to always keep one eye on the state of Syria.) (Read More)
